On Monday, the ASX experienced a decline primarily driven by a few large-cap stocks, notably CSL and Woodside, amidst traders’ contemplation of the market’s future amid an impending week of crucial company earnings reports. Despite a positive performance on Wall Street the previous Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 closed lower by 0.4%, reaching 7611 points, while the All Ordinaries index dipped by 0.3%.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 8 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 2.25 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 20.25 points.
The SPI futures are down 34 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Information Technology, up 1.02 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Health Care, down 3.19 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH), closing 7.13 per cent higher at $60.58. It was followed by shares in Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) and Aurizon Holdings (ASX:AZJ).
The worst-performing large cap was CSL (ASX:CSL), closing 4.84 per cent lower at $290.24. It was followed by shares in IGO (ASX:IGO) and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation (ASX:FPH).
Asian markets
Japan’s Nikkei has gained 0.09 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 0.83 per cent.
China’s Shanghai Composite has gained 1.25 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2,037.10 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.6 per cent lower at US$129.00 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 2.39 per cent rise.
Light crude is trading $0.33 lower at US$76.51 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.20 US cents.