Loading

Giant agribusiness Elders finished as the day’s worst performer, plunging 24.4 per cent after the company issued a trading update that revealed first-half earnings were likely to come in “significantly below expectations”.

Elders projects underlying earnings before interest and taxes of between $120 million and $140 million for 2023-24, down from $170.8 million in the same period a year earlier.

Beach Energy shares slid 15 per cent after the company revealed further delays and cost blowouts to its Waitsia Stage 2 LNG project in Western Australia. Strike Energy slid 6 per cent.

The lowdown

Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said the ASX was hanging onto gains “by the fingernails”.

“A spike in Australian yields has been a headwind to the market, although – just like on Wall Street – the tech sector has defied conventional wisdom and climbed despite the dynamic,” he wrote in a note.

Technology stocks were largely responsible for keeping the benchmark ASX 200 in the green: WiseTech Global is up 0.8 per cent and TechnologyOne rose by 1.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar demonstrated “impressive resilience” last week thanks to surging commodity prices and better than expected global manufacturing data, said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore.

“Whether the AUD/USD can lock in a third straight week of gains will depend on whether commodity prices can extend recent gains, as well as CPI and PPI data in the US, given the Fed’s focus on inflation. Australian consumer confidence data scheduled for release tomorrow may also have a say,” he wrote.

Shares of major supermarket Coles dipped 1.2 per cent after Craig Emerson’s interim report into the food and grocery code of conduct recommended making the code mandatory and called for major penalties for breaches. Shares of rival Woolworths sank 0.3 per cent.

Mining giants were a mixed bag: Rio Tinto closed 1 per cent higher while BHP dipped 0.2 per cent. Fortescue Metals lifted 0.3 per cent.

On Friday, stocks ended solidly higher on Wall Street and bond yields rose as investors digested relatively strong jobs data.

The S&P 500 Index rose 1.1 per cent, making up most of the losses from the previous day, and moving closer to its record set last week. However, the benchmark still posted its first weekly loss in three weeks.

The gains were broad. Every sector in the S&P 500 finished in positive territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8 per cent and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.2 per cent.

Loading

Technology stocks accounted for a big slice of the rally. Market darling chipmaker Nvidia’s shares gained 2.4 per cent, while Google’s parent company Alphabet rose 1.3 per cent.

US employers added a surprisingly strong 303,000 workers to their payrolls in March, according to a government report. The stronger than expected jobs market has helped fuel consumer spending and earnings growth for businesses, lifting the likelihood of solid economic growth.

Still, the robust jobs numbers fuelled concerns that inflation might be creeping higher, which could delay expected rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. However, reports indicated that wages had risen by a modest 0.3 per cent for the month, which puts less upward pressure on inflation. Wall Street still expects the Fed to begin cutting rates in June.

Treasury yields climbed following the jobs report. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.4 per cent, from 4.31 per cent just before the report was released. The two-year yield, which moves more on expectations for the Fed, rose to 4.75 per cent, from 4.65 per cent.

Investors will get another key update on inflation next week, when the government releases its March report on consumer prices.

Tweet of the day

In February, Medibank lost an application in the Federal Court to stop the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner from proceeding to investigate the complaint. It has now confirmed it did not appeal against the decision. More here.

With AP

The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.