The Australian sharemarket tumbled on Monday as investors reacted to renewed trade tensions between the United States and China.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 75.5 points or 0.8% to 8,882.8, with all 11 sectors finishing in negative territory.
Losses were led by the risk-sensitive Information Technology sector, with Block down 5.2%, WiseTech Global losing 2.5%, Xero down 1.5%, and TechnologyOne retreating 1.8%.
The Energy sector also came under pressure after crude oil prices slumped on Friday, with Santos 1.7% lower, Woodside Energy down 1.2%, and Beach Energy falling 0.9%.
Financials broadly declined, with Commonwealth Bank down 1.9%, Westpac falling 0.9%, and NAB slipping 1.8%.
However, ANZ Bank defied the trend, rising 3.3% after new chief executive Nuno Matos outlined a strategic overhaul to boost profits. The plan includes significant cost reductions and the suspension of a $600 million share buyback to redirect capital toward serving wealthy domestic and expatriate clients.
Among individual companies, Treasury Wine Estates led declines, shedding 15% after cutting its earnings guidance and pausing a previously announced $200 million share buyback until there is “greater clarity around trading conditions and expectations”.
In contrast, Toro Energy surged 38.5% after agreeing to be acquired by Canadian uranium explorer IsoEnergy in a $75 million deal, marking one of the day’s few bright spots.
Elsewhere, Qantas Airways fell 1.6% after confirming a cyberattack had compromised 5.7 million customer records, although the airline said the majority of affected data included only names, email addresses, and frequent flyer details, with no financial or passport information exposed.
On the bond markets, yields softened, with the 10-year and 2-year government bond rates falling 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively, to 4.304% and 3.481%.
