What happened
The benchmark ASX 200 fell 88.30 points, or 0.97 per cent, to close at 8978.40 on Wednesday, marking its worst session in months and dragging seven of 11 sectors lower. Technology stocks dropped more than 3 per cent, with WiseTech Global slumping 5.16 per cent, while gold miners sold off as spot gold prices slipped below $US4,300 an ounce.
Why it matters here
Market sentiment was battered by stronger domestic economic data that heightened rate hike concerns, alongside rising global bond yields and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Rising oil prices provided a minor offset for energy producers Woodside and Santos, but broad-based weakness erased recent sharemarket gains.
What to watch
Upcoming Australian employment figures, movements in long-term government bond yields, and international crude oil price volatility following fresh US economic sanctions on Iran.
Source
theaustralian.com.au