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Australian shares were lower at lunchtime today, with a sell off across retail stocks and banks weighing on the broader market as investors digested a fresh wave of earnings results and signs of a slowing economy.
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The S&P/ASX 200 Index was down 23 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 9092.20 by midday, with eight of the 11 sectors in the red. Consumer discretionary was the weakest sector, falling 2.2 per cent.
Retail stocks bore the brunt of the selling, with JB Hi-Fi plunging 11.4 per cent after reporting record sales growth and higher full year profit, but falling short of market expectations as customer spending weakened in the final quarter.
Wesfarmers fell 3.3 per cent, Eagers Automotive dropped 2.6 per cent and Harvey Norman declined 4.2 per cent. A2 Milk also came under pressure, falling 2.1 per cent after chief executive David Bortolussi said the company had lost about 60 per cent of customers who bought its Chinese-label products compared with December.
The weakness extended into the banks, with National Australia Bank down 4.8 per cent after warning that the combined impact of the Middle East conflict, higher interest rates and federal budget property tax changes were creating challenges and uncertainties for customers. ANZ fell 2.3 per cent, while Westpac slipped 0.2 per cent and Commonwealth Bank was flat.
Technology stocks also traded lower, with WiseTech Global down 2.3 per cent and TechnologyOne off 1.5 per cent. Megaport and Codan both fell by almost 1 per cent.
Meanwhile, gold remained in focus as bullion traded near US$4,400 an ounce. Gold extended its two week advance after weaker US consumer sentiment and retail sales data weighed on the US dollar and reduced fears of an imminent rate hike.
Copper was also pushing higher, extending a seven week rally towards a record high as tightening near-term supply conditions drove a widening price spread on the London Metal Exchange. Three month copper was up 1.2 per cent at US$14,331 a tonne, approaching the intraday record of US$14,527.50 reached in late January.
In company news, Iress fell 9.4 per cent despite reporting a lift in net profit to $32 million for the first half, compared with $17.3 million a year earlier.
Audinate jumped 8.1 per cent after reporting a $3.6 million underlying loss before tax for the full year, compared with an underlying profit of $700,000 a year earlier.
Aurizon plunged 9.6 per cent despite reporting underlying earnings of $1.72 billion, in line with analyst expectations, while also announcing the renewal of a key coal agreement with the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance group in Queensland.
L1 Group gained 8.6 per cent after full year underlying net profit nearly doubled to $188.8 million, while Lendlease fell 9.1 per cent after swinging to a $749 million net loss for FY26 from a $225 million profit a year earlier.
Australian Clinical Labs was another standout, surging almost 20 per cent after its earnings beat consensus. Revenue came in at $735.8 million, while underlying EBIT rose 2 per cent to $69.2 million and exceeded the $64.4 million consensus forecast.
Investors are also looking ahead to BHP’s full-year results, with analyst sentiment becoming less bullish ahead of Tuesday’s release.
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