The ASX fell in morning trading with most sectors seeing red, including a selloff in telcos, financials and property stocks.
The S&P/ASX200 has so far dropped 8.80 points or 0.12% to 7,323.70 and crossing below its 125-day moving average.
This index has lost 2.02% for the last five days but sits 4.05% below its 52-week high.
Bottom-performing stocks in this index are currently Premier Investments Ltd down 4.12% and Webjet Ltd (ASX:WEB) down 3.52%.
As for the telcos, Telstra was down 1.8%, TPG Telecom fell 2.2% and Uniti Group dropped 2.5%.
On the bright side, there has been a rally in mining stocks, with Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX:EVN), Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX:NST) and Silver Lakes Resources Ltd all rising more than 7%.
Copper miner Sandfire Resources Ltd is also higher, up 1.8%.
"Sandfire has hit the ground running in 2022," Sandfire managing director and chief executive Karl Simich said.
"The imminent completion (by January 31) of the MATSA acquisition will mark a momentous occasion for Sandfire and all of our stakeholders.
"With the acquisition of MATSA, Sandfire immediately becomes one of the largest copper-focused base metal producers on the ASX, with high-quality operations in Spain and Australia and an impressive growth pipeline and exploration portfolio that will drive our growth for decades to come."
Woodside is also on the winner’s list.
“The 86% increase in sales revenue for the quarter was underpinned by a 22% increase in sales volume as well as significantly stronger average realised prices. We achieve our highest quarterly sales revenue on record,” chief executive Meg O’Neill said.
Block joins ASX
Afterpay has been delisted and replaced by Block Inc. (formerly known as Square).
Shares are trading under the SQ2 ticker and are currently trading at $176.05.
The fintech giant made its ASX debut at 11am with a price of $176.08 and reached a high of $178.88.
Investors can buy Block CDIs on a deferred settlement until the company commences trading on a normal (T+2) settlement basis from February 2.
Westpac flags August for rate rise
Westpac Banking Corp believes August is the month Australians will face an interest rate rise.
The bank is betting on the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise rates by 15 basis points In August and by another 25 basis points in October.
“We understand that the Governor has firmly indicated that he does not expect to be raising rates until very late 2023 or 2024 and that this expectation is entirely consistent with the bank’s current economic forecasts,” Westpac chief economist Bill Evans.
“Those forecasts, which will be refreshed and possibly changed for the February 1 board meeting, indicate that underlying inflation will print 2.25% by the end of 2022 and 2.5% by the end of 2023.”
Jobless rate falls
The jobless number has fallen to pre-GFC levels.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.2% in December, with the number of employed rising by 64,800, a monthly change of 0.5%.
Underemployment fell by 1.9% to 6.6%.
The falling numbers reflect the tightening Australian labour market, which could be a factor in the RBA bringing forward interest rate rises.
On the small cap front
Azure Minerals Ltd (ASX:AZS) gained 14.80%. AZS has enjoyed a busy start to the new year as activity ramps up across its Barton gold play in WA’s Eastern Goldfields and the Andover nickel-copper property in the Pilbara.
Altech Chemicals Ltd (ASX:ATC) is up 9.52%. ATC’s 75%-owned German subsidiary, Altech Industries Germany GmbH (AIG), has taken up the option to buy a ~14-hectare industrial site in Saxony, Germany.
Red River Resources Limited (ASX:RVR) gained 7.50%. RVR has struck zinc during reverse circulation drilling at three exploration prospects - Cougartown, Cougartown West and Max Copper Gold - near its Liontown Project, part of its Thalanga Operations in north Queensland.
Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX:CHN, OTCQB:CGMLF) is 6.30% higher having commenced low-impact diamond drilling at the Hartog Target within its 100%-owned Julimar Nickel-Copper-PGE Project about 70 kilometres northeast of Perth in Western Australia.
Brookside Energy Ltd (ASX:BRK) is 5.00% higher. BRK has received a strong endorsement of its Rangers Drilling Spacing Unit (DSU) in Oklahoma’s world-class Anadarko Basin with three of the largest oil and gas producers in the US confirming their participation.
Rumble Resources Ltd (ASX:RTR) is up 4.36%. RTR is moving to expand on discoveries at the Chinook, Tonka and Navajoh prospects of the Earaheedy Zinc-Lead-Silver-Copper Project in Western Australia with two new tenement acquisitions, increasing the company’s adjoining land fourfold.
Emyria Ltd (ASX:EMD) is 2.27% higher as it gears up for phase one, in-human trials of its proprietary, ultra-pure CBD capsules later this quarter.
Marvel Gold Ltd (ASX:MVL) has gained 1.59%. MVL’s interest in the Altus joint venture has increased to 70% from 51% following recent exploration work.