PHOTO: Australian shares are expected to hit cruise control today as investors wait for key data. (Reuters: Steven Saphore)
The ASX 200 has ended the day in the red, with consumer confidence data showing the effect of Melbourne’s latest lockdown and Australians easing off their property high.
Key points:
- The Australian share market was set to rise marginally on open
- Wall Street had mixed results
- Surprise performers included “meme stocks” that experiencing the GameStop effect
The ASX 200 rose a solid 0.6 per cent on open and hit a new intra-day high just before lunchtime at 7,332.
That was boosted by gains in mining stocks, with Perenti Global jumping after bagging a large contract from Sandfire Resources.
But after lunch the positivism had flatlined and was starting to turn into the red.
That was after Westpac released consumer confidence data.
“The Index has now fallen by 9.7 per cent over the last two months,” its analysts said.
“We think the initial 4.8 per cent fall in May can be mainly attributed to a combination of a statistical correction following a very strong surge in April to an 11-year high, and some disappointment around the budget given high expectations leading into the announcement.
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