Skip to content

Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

ASX 200 afternoon report: 21st of February 2023

Find out all the latest information on the ASX 200 market. Updated as of 21st February 3.30 pm Sydney time.

Source: Bloomberg

It’s been a roller coaster ride on the ASX 200 today, which in early trading, fell to a five-week low at 7297 before embarking on a 40-point recovery in the afternoon session.

Mining sector

The recovery was led by the big miners as the price of iron ore futures in Asia climbed above $131 per tonne following an upgrade by a US investment bank.

Consumer-facing stocks

The release of the RBA meeting minutes, which reiterated the hawkish tone of the February Board Meeting, heaped more pain on consumer-facing stocks.

  • A2M fell 5.16% to $6.16, extending falls after yesterday’s earning miss
  • Endeavour Group fell 2.54% to $6.71
  • Coles fell 1.6% to $18.01 despite its stronger-than-expected earnings report
  • Blackmores fell 1.55% to $84.20
  • Altium fell 6.84% to $27.27 after reporting mixed earnings yesterday afternoon
  • Sezzle fell 1.72% to $0.57c
  • Computershare fell 1.37% to $23.78
  • Seek fell 1.13% to $24.05.

Real estate sector

The real estate sector has fallen, led by a 3.6% fall in Stockland Group after its earnings results were impacted by wet weather and interest rate rise uncertainty—a similar story to the one we have had from other developers this earnings season. Lend Lease fell 1.86% to $7.64, and Goodman Group fell 1.7% to $19.47.

Financial sector

The bargain hunters who bravely stuck their hands up yesterday to buy banking stocks after last week's sharp falls were nowhere to be seen today.

  • Westpac fell 1.04% to $22.77
  • NAB fell 0.83% to $30.05
  • ANZ fell 0.7% to $24.57
  • CBA, which trades ex-dividend on Wednesday, fell 0.6% to $101.64.

Lithium sector

A better day for Lithium miners as Pilbara Resources snapped its four-day losing streak adding 4.76% to $4.40.

Technical analysis

In late January, we shifted from a bullish view of the ASX 200 and suggested cutting longs ahead of the bull market 7632 high. Our target for the current pullback is the 7200/7000 support area, coming from the uptrend support from the October 6411 low and the 200-day moving average.

ASX 200 daily chart

Source: TradingView. The figures stated are as of February 21st, 2023. 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.

This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.

Explore the markets with our free course

Learn how shares work – and discover the wide range of markets you can spread bet on – with IG Academy's free ’introducing the financial markets’ course.

Put learning into action

Try out what you’ve learned in this shares strategy article risk-free in your demo account.

Ready to trade shares?

Put the lessons in this article to use in a live account – upgrading is quick and easy.

  • Trade on over 13,000+ popular global stocks
  • Protect your capital with risk management tools
  • React to breaking news with out-of-hours trading on 70 key US stocks

Inspired to trade?

Put your new knowledge into practice. Log in to your account now.

Live prices on most popular markets

  • Equities
  • Indices
  • Forex
  • Commodities


Prices above are subject to our website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only. All share prices are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

Prices above are subject to our website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only. All shares prices are delayed by at least 15 mins.

Plan your trading week

Get the week’s market-moving news sent directly to your inbox every Sunday. The Week Ahead gives you a full calendar of upcoming economic events, as well as commentary from our expert analysts on the key markets to watch.


For more info on how we might use your data, see our privacy notice and access policy and privacy webpage.

You might be interested in…

Find out what charges your trades could incur with our transparent fee structure.

Discover why so many clients choose us, and what makes us a world-leading provider of spread betting and CFDs.

Stay on top of upcoming market-moving events with our customisable economic calendar.