ASX 200 falls as Commonwealth Bank plunge offsets robust day for miners | USAEMALL.com

Three of the big four banks and technology stocks dragged the ASX 200 lower on Wednesday, offsetting a strong day from the mining sector.

The benchmark ASX 200 fell 19.30 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 8799.50, while the broader All Ordinaries gave up 19 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 9079.40.

Australia’s dollar traded higher and is now buying 65.36 US cents.

On a mixed day of trading, six of the 11 sectors ended higher, with gains out of consumer staples and materials offset by technology and banking stocks.

Woolworth shares jumped 1.34 per cent to $28.64, while Coles added 0.67 per cent to $22.45 and Endeavour Group leapt 3.02 per cent to $3.75.

BHP shares finished in the green, up 0.63 per cent to $43.06, Fortescue added 0.30 per cent to $19.96 and Rio Tinto jumped 2.25 per cent to $132.47.

In deja vu for local investors, the financial sector again dragging the market lower.

Commonwealth Bank dropped a further 3.07 per cent to $158.38 — its lowest levels since the April Trump tariff market tantrum.

The sell-off continued following Tuesday’s quarterly update when the bank told shareholders it made cash profits of $2.6bn, up two per cent compared to the prior comparative quarter and in line with market forecasts.

Commonwealth Bank has now slunk 10.52 per cent over the past five trading days.

Shares in Westpac also fell 0.47 per cent to $39.86, while National Australia Bank slipped 0.07 per cent to $42.67.

ANZ outperformed with its shares rallying 1.81 per cent to $38.85.

Morningstar Australia equity market strategist Lochlan Halloway said even with the bank’s recent falls they were still expensive based on historic multiples.

“Major bank share prices sit well above our fair value estimates, and our forecasts are hardly pessimistic: mid-single-digit credit growth over the next five years, modest normalisation in bad debts back to historical averages, and falling cost-to-income ratios,” Mr Halloway said.

Technology stocks were also among the major movers on Wednesday as accounting software Xero dropped 2.23 per cent to $140, Technology One fell 1.95 per cent to $35.61 and WiseTech Global slipped 0.81 per cent to $69.49.

Life 360 continued its falls and slumped 13.08 per cent to $39.81.

The plunge came after informing the market on Tuesday that user growth numbers came in lower than expected.

In other company news, Megaport gave up 1.6 per cent to $15.05 after informing the market of a $200m institutional placement, which will be used to fund an acquisition of Latitude.sh and accelerate the businesses growth plans in India.

Entertainment company Aristocrat Leisure slumped 7.5 per cent to $59.42 due to its interactive division missing market expectations.

McGuigan, Tempus Two and Nepenthe parent company Australian Vintage shares fell 3.85 per cent to $0.12 after announcing its expectation for flat sales in the first half of the fiscal year, before sales pick up in the second half.