ASX 200 afternoon report: 12 November 2024

The ASX 200 trades 22 points (-0.27%) lower at 8243 as of 3.15pm AEDT.

ASX 200 dips as Chinese stimulus disappoints

The ASX 200 fell for a second consecutive day, reversing part of last week’s post-election gains.

The primary factor behind this pullback is an underwhelming Chinese stimulus package announced on Friday, compounded by lacklustre Chinese inflation data over the weekend. These developments have raised concerns that Chinese authorities may not be responding quickly enough to tackle sluggish demand and rising deflation risks.

Speculation is also growing that Chinese authorities might be holding back stronger fiscal measures to cushion against potential tariffs expected from Donald Trump.

Consumer and business confidence on the rise

In a positive shift, Australian consumer and business confidence indexes posted strong gains today, offering some relief amidst the market’s turbulence.

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index rose 5.3% to 94.6 in November, up from 89.8 in October. This increase brought the index to its highest point in two and a half months, as consumers became more optimistic about the economic outlook and less concerned about a potential Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) interest rate hike.

Meanwhile, the National Australia Bank (NAB) business confidence index rose to 5 points in October from -2 previously. Input costs decreased across both labour and materials, and final prices also ticked lower. Notably, employment expectations continued to improve, reflecting a more optimistic business environment.

ASX 200 stocks

Mining sector

Major mining stocks continue to erase the gains that followed China’s dovish pivot in late September.

• BHP retreated 1.6% to $40.94
• Rio Tinto dropped 1.5% to $117.69
• South32 fell 1.5% to $3.64
• Sandfire Resources slipped 1.45% to $10.14

Uranium stocks

The mining sector's losses were overshadowed by uranium miner Paladin Energy, whose share price plunged following a challenging production update from its Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia.

• Paladin Energy plunged 28.5% to $6.92
• Deep Yellow fell 6.37% to $1.21
• Boss Energy lost 4.81% to $2.97
• Silex Systems slid 4.71% to $5.45

Gold mining

Gold miners also faced pressure as rising yields, and a stronger US dollar pushed bullion prices 2.4% lower overnight to $2619 - now over 6% below its late October high of $2790.

• Evolution Mining dropped 3.2% to $4.71
• Regis Resources fell 3.13% to $2.48
• Gold Road Resources declined 2.88% to $1.77

Consumer-facing stocks

• Cettire soared 8.14% to $1.60
• Temple & Webster gained 3.57% to $11.46
• Myer added 2.72% to $0.94
• Adairs climbed 2.35% to $2.61

Banking sector

• ANZ gained 1.43% to $32.59
• Macquarie rose 0.95% to $231.00
• CBA edged 0.17% lower to $149.54 after hitting a record high of $150.85 earlier in the session
• NAB fell 3.33% to $38.66 after going ex-dividend

ASX 200 technical analysis

The ASX 200 continues to rotate below a band of resistance that includes multi-month trend channel resistance at around 8365 and its 8384 record high, and above important support at 8110 - 8100.

A sustained break of either of these levels is needed to indicate in which direction the ASX 200’s next significant move will come.

ASX 200 daily chart

• _{Source: TradingView. The figures stated are as of 12 November 2024. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This report does not contain and is not to be taken as containing any financial product advice or financial product recommendation.}