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The ASX200 has been down 0.42% at 8,440 points in afternoon trade.
The local bourse is slightly weaker, with falls spread broadly as profit-taking took hold after the market’s record highs earlier this week.
All eyes are on U.S. jobs data, out tonight Sydney time. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to report non-farm payrolls increased by 214,000 in November; a significant step up from the meager 12,000 gain in October.
IT has been the worst performing sector, down 1.2%, followed by Energy, down 1.1%, and Telecommunication, down, 0.8%. Utilities has been the the best performer, up 0.8%, followed by Real Estate, up 0.7%.
Company News
Domino’s Pizza (ASX:DMP) has been down 3.7% after Macquarie analysts downgraded the company, citing downside risk to earnings due to fewer store openings. The broker downgraded Domino’s to ‘underperform’ from ‘neutral’ and cut its price target on the stock by 8% to $29.50 to reflect a weaker earnings outlook.
Dominos Pizza has been $32.00.
Black Cat Syndicate (ASX:BC8) has been down 3.36% after commissioning kicked off at its Paulsens Gold Operation. On-site activities have included dry commissioning of the crushing circuit and installation of new Knelson gravity concentrators.
Black Cat Syndicate has been 72 cents.
Critical minerals producer Iluka Resource (ASX:ILU) has been down 9.6% after securing $400 million from the federal government for the development of its Eneabba rare earths refinery in Western Australia.
Iluka Resources has been $4.95.
