The Australian sharemarket closed lower on Tuesday although materials stocks rallied as BlueScope Steel said it had received an A$13.15 billion takeover bid.
The ASX 200 finished 0.5% lower at 8,682.80 points. Materials and energy stocks were the only sectors to rise across the day.
SGH and United States-based Steel Dynamics have bid for BlueScope, Australia’s largest steelmaker, the companies said today. BlueScope’s shares soared 20.5%.
The bid, received in December, would see SGH acquire BlueScope’s shares and sell its U.S. operations to Steel Dynamics.
“The Board of BlueScope, together with management and advisers, is considering and evaluating the Indicative Proposal,” BlueScope said.
Steel Dynamics bid for BlueScope twice as part of another consortium in late 2024 and once alone in early 2025 but BlueScope unanimously rejected all three proposals.
Materials stocks are up 4.1% across the past five trading days, and have also been supported by growth in uranium producers’ shares.
Silex Systems shares dropped 32.9% after its Global Laser Enrichment joint venture was passed over by the U.S. Department of Energy for a US$900 million uranium enrichment contract.
Australia’s consumer price index data will be released tomorrow. Headline inflation will likely dip from 3.8% to 3.6%, with the trimmed mean falling from 3.3% to 3.2%, economists project.
“Australian inflation has accelerated above the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target in recent months, with the central bank pivoting its commentary about future monetary policy and revising its inflation forecasts as a result. The RBA points to a persistent supply and demand imbalance that could see inflation remain above target well into 2026, despite historically modest GDP growth,” wrote Capital.com senior financial market analyst Kyle Rodda .
Two-year bond yields were up 0.01% to 4.060%, while 10-year yields were unchanged at 4.776%.
In the U.S., the S&P 500 climbed 0.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% to reach a new record and the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.7%.
