The ASX is trading lower today.
The S&P/ASX200 had dropped 12.70 points or 0.17% to 7,430.70 at time of writing.
Over the last five days, the index is virtually unchanged but is currently 2.65% below its 52-week high.
Leading the index down were the A2 Milk Company Ltd falling 10.59% and Codan (ASX:CDA) Limited which fell 7.27%.
A2 Milk was down despite stating the results meant no "material" change to FY22 guidance.
Woolworths was expected to shine, however, a mixed quarterly saw it lose 2.48%.
At the other end of the spectrum, the real estate and communication services indices were up by 0.66% and 1.42% respectively.
Telstra is riding the wave of yesterday’s acquisition announcement and is currently higher by 2.24% pushing up the communication index.
Consumer staples stocks were lagging, down 1.63%, led by the A2 Milk and Woolworths Group declines.
Reliance Worldwide gained 6.15% after a decline on Monday following news it would acquire EZ-FLO International.
It’s all about inflation
As we reported this morning, inflation pulled back from 12-year record highs this quarter.
The pullback comes as Australia's Consumer Price Index rose 0.8% to an annual rate of 3%.
Underlying inflation rose by 0.7% to an annualised 2.1%. This is the highest level we’ve seen in underlying inflation since 2015 and is ahead of market expectations.
Underlying inflation is the rate of inflation that would be expected to eventually prevail in the absence of economic slack, supply shocks, idiosyncratic relative price changes or other disturbances.
The most significant price rises in the September quarter were new dwellings, up 3.3%, followed by automotive fuel, up 7.1%.
"Construction input costs such as timber increased due to supply disruptions and shortages. Combined with high levels of building activity, this saw price increases passed through to consumers," Australian Bureau of Statistics head Michelle Marquardt said.
"Rising fuel prices also contributed to the September quarter CPI increase, with the CPI's automotive fuel series reaching the highest level in its half-century history."
Meanwhile, in the US, inflation concerns seem to have dissipated on the back stronger than expected earnings performance which returned Wall Street to record highs.
Investors look to have backed corporate profits over cost pressures and supply disruptions that put margins at risk.
“Coming into the reporting period, there were nerves about supply constraints and slowing growth, but they’re being offset by stronger-than-expected earnings,” AMP Capital’s head of investment strategy, Shane Oliver said.
“When reporting season gets underway, it typically dominates equity markets as they adjust to any surprises, and we’ve seen US sharemarkets consistently rise through the reporting period in recent years.”
On the small cap front
Cipherpoint Ltd (ASX:CPT) is up 6.90% on the back of yesterday’s quarterly and today’s announcement that subsidiary Brace168 Pty Ltd has entered into a three-year Master Services Agreement (MSA) with Vocus Pty Ltd for the delivery of cybersecurity-related services.
Musgrave Minerals Ltd (ASX:MGV, OTC:MGVMF) is up 6.67% after its latest exploration program returned bonanza and high-grade gold intersections .
Magmatic Resources Ltd (ASX:MAG) is up 5.43%. MAG is set to diamond drill the high-grade historic Bodangora Gold Field within its Wellington North Project.
Boadicea Resources Ltd (ASX:BOA) is up 5.13% as it continues to make progress across its Western Australian and Queensland project portfolio.
Anteris Technologies Ltd (ASX:AVR, OTC:AMEUF) is up 4.17%. AVR has raised A$5 million in a placement to funds managed or advised by Melbourne-based global investor L1 Capital.
Global Energy Ventures Ltd (ASX:GEV) is up 3.7% as it marches toward a fully integrated green hydrogen supply chain .
Anson Resources Ltd (ASX:ASN) is up 1.03% having started site work on proposed production wells at its flagship Paradox Lithium-Bromine Project in the US.