ASX 200 afternoon report: 9 May 2024

The ASX 200 trades 82 points (-1.05%) lower at 7722 at 3.00 pm AEST.

The ASX 200 has snapped a five-day winning streak today, emphatically rejecting the 7800 level it pushed above yesterday to erase all its post-RBA rally.

It's not lost on this observer that today's selloff is the third time in two months that a rally above 7800 has been cut short by the emergence of an aggressive sell order, that had a snowball effect on the local market.

While we can't confirm if today's sell order is linked to the previous selloffs on 11 March and 3 April, it does serve as a cautionary sign that today's decline could extend further.

ASX 200 stocks

Consumer-facing stocks

Consumer Discretionary stocks have been heavily marked down after disappointing trading updates.

• Baby Bunting: - 23.42% to $1.46
• Temple and Webster: -12.20% to $11.08
• Adairs: - 5.37% to $1.94
• Nick Scali: - 5% to $14.64

Banking sector

• Westpac: -5.61% to $26.35 after it went ex-dividend
• CBA: -1.93% to $117.43 despite its quarterly trading update impressing banking analysts
• NAB: - 1.22% to $33.54
• ANZ: -1.13% to $28.79
• Macquarie: + 0.21% to $191.12

Mining sector

The big mining stocks lost ground as iron ore fell 2.63% overnight to $115.10.

• Fortescue: - 0.86% to $26.40
• BHP: - 0.62% to $43.11
• Mineral Resources: - 0.65% to $76.69
• Rio Tinto: - 0.20% to $129.95

Real estate sector

The rebound in the real estate sector hit the skids as US yields rose for a third straight session ahead of next week's all-important April CPI release.

• Lend Lease: - 2.28% to $6.21
• Domain: -2.22% to $3.08
• Goodman: - 1.88% to $33.64
• Scentre: - 1.71% to $3.16

Energy sector

Energy stocks gained as the price of crude oil rebounded above $79.00 following lower-than-expected US inventories, sparing the index further blushes.

• Beach Energy: +1.9% to $1.61
• AGL: + 1.68% to $10.30
• Woodside: + 1.11% to $28.19
• Santos: + 0.40% to $7.66

ASX 200 technical analysis

In the lead-up to today’s sell-off, we have favoured the view that the pullback from the 7910 high was missing another leg lower (Wave C) to complete a three-wave corrective ABC Elliott wave correction.

Today's sell-off suggests a Wave B high is in place at 7814, and Wave C has commenced, which targets a move towards Wave quality at 7390ish. A sustained move below 7700 in the coming sessions would greatly increase confidence in the view.

ASX 200 daily chart

• ^{Source: Tradingview. The figures stated are as of 9 May 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.}