New dawn at the RBA as Michele Bullock begins as governor, ASX dragged lower by tech stocks ahead of overseas interest rates meetings — as it happened (2023)

Now the (trading) day is done, here's how the markets looked at4:15pm AEST:

• ASX 200:-0.6% at 7,230 points (final figures below)
• All Ords:-0.7% at 7,428 points
• Australian dollar:+0.3% at 64.48 US cents
• Nikkei:+1.1% to 33,533 points
• Hang Seng:-0.9% to 18,012 points
• Shanghai:+0.2% at 3,123 points
• Dow Jones:-0.8% to 34,618 points (Fri)
• S&P 500:-1.2% to 4,450 points (Fri)
• Nasdaq:-1.6% to 13,708 points (Fri)
• FTSE:+0.5% to 7,711 points (Fri)
• Spot gold:+0.3% at $US1,929/ounce
• Brent crude:+0.8% at $US94.64/barrel
• Iron ore:$US121.30/tonne
• Bitcoin:+1% at $US26,680

Updates on the major ASX indices:

The Australian sharemarket has finished lower for the first day of trade this week, down 0.7% to 7,230 points, thanks to a broad sell-off with tech shares dragging it into the red.

All 11 sectors finished in negative territory, with technology and energy falling by 1.6% each.

Tech stocks WiseTech Global fell by 2.5%, while Xero shed 4.1% at the close.

Utilities and basic materials were the least negative sectors, falling by 0.1% and 0.3% respectively.

The fall in tech stocks follows the dip seen on the Nasdaq last Friday, and is worst day Aussie tech stocks have seen so far this month.

The top performers for the day were:

• Paladin Energy +4.2%
• Fisher & Paykel Healthcare +1.5%
• Alumina +1.5%
• Ramelius Resources +1.5%
• Auckland International Airport +1.4%

And the worst performers for the day:

• Weebit Nano -9.5%
• Silver Lake Resources -8.3%
• Polynovo -5.4%
• Washington H Soul Pattinson -5.3%
• Genesis Minerals -4.9%

That's where we'll leave the blog today — but we'll be back to do it all again bright and early tomorrow.

Until then you can catch up on today's developments below, ordownload theABC News appandsubscribe to our range of news alertsfor the latest news.

Loading

Apart from the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England meetings this week, the Bank of Japan's meeting is also a key focus for markets this week.

Why? Because the Japanese central bank's governor has suggested that it could end its negative interest rate policy, with its 2% inflation target in sight — paving the way for possible interest rate hikes.

Last weekend, governorKazudo Ueda told the Yomiuri newspaper that the Bank of Japan could have enough data by the end of the year to determine whether it could end negative rates.

"Once we're convinced Japan will see sustained rises in inflation accompanied by wage growth, there are various options we can take," Ueda was quoted as saying.

"If we judge that Japan can achieve its inflation target even after ending negative rates, we'll do so."

The BOJ currently guides short-term interest rates at -0.1% under its negative rate policy, and caps the 10-year government bond yield around zero as part of efforts to reflate the economy and sustainably achieve its target.

With inflation exceeding its 2% target for more than a year, markets have been rife with speculation the BOJ will soon start raising interest rates.

It's that speculation that markets are keenly looking out for with Friday's decision, and any signs that the BOJ might be moving away from its ultra-loose policy faster than previously thought.

• Rachel Pupazzoni takes a close look at the Opposition's proposal for modular nuclear reactors to replace coal fired power.
• Saxo Bank's CEO and founder, Kim Fournais, warns banks which are slow to raise rates for savers are risking the imposition of additional regulation and taxes.
• And Tribeca Investment Partner's Jun Bei Liu joins us to discuss the fall of Aussie tech stocks, a positive trading session for commodities, as well as preview this week's rates decision by the US Federal Reserve.

You can watch The Business with host Kirsten Aiken on ABC News at 8.44pm AEST, after the late news on ABC TV, or ABC iview.

If you missed this last week, United Auto Workers are striking against Detroit's "Big Three" automakers after failing to reach a deal on new contracts.

UAW members went on strike on Friday at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, and is considered the most ambitious US industrial labour action in decades.

It's the first time the UAW has gone on strike at all three automakers at the same time.

Unions and representatives at the "Detroit Three" are set to resume talks, but there appears to be no immediate resolution on the horizon.

Around 12,700 UAW workers are on strike as part of the coordinated labour action, which is targeting the three assembly plants after their previous four-year labour agreements ended at midnight last Thursday.

General Motors, Ford and Stellantis make up around 40% of the US market.

Along with higher wages, the UAW is demanding shorter work weeks, restoring defined benefit pensions, and stronger job security as automakers shift towards EVs.

Should the strike widen to include all 146,000 UAW members at the three companies, it could be the largest automotive industry strike in 25 years — since more than 150,000 GM workers walked off the job for nearly two months in 1998.

If that action widens, that would put "half a billion [US] dollars per day" at risk in the US economy, according to RSM's chief US economist Joe Brusuelas, and slow the country's economy considerably.

"While that amount is large in nominal dollar terms, it would not be large enough to tip the economy into recession," Mr Bruselas said last week.

See Also

Should you trust personal finance advice from a 'finfluencer'?

"In the end, the impact of a such a strike would be modest compared to previous generations."

Today's nerves on the markets are also partly due to investors waiting for the RBA to release the minutes of its latest cash rate decision to assess its interest rate outlook.

The RBA will release the minutes from its September meeting at 11:30am AEST tomorrow, after it decided to leave interest rates on hold at 4.1% again at its September 5 meeting.

So why are investors so eagerly waiting for this?

Because they're looking for clues about future interest rate decisions and how the economy is tracking — especially with inflation still above the RBA's 2-3% target.

The RBA's statement on its latest monetary policy decision noted that services inflation was a sticking point in the economy, as it is globally, and there were "significant" uncertainties around the outlook — adding to the central bank's statement that future rate rises may be needed to curb inflation.

We'll bring you the highlights from those minutes in tomorrow's blog, but if you're wanting to refresh your memory with this month's decision, here's the story from Rachel Pupazzoni and I two weeks ago:

CEO of the Australian Banking Association, Anna Bligh, says banks are doing their best to combat scams, amid an "explosion" of them targeting Australians.

She says every Australian bank has been dealing with a rise in scams, and banks are "doing their best" to ensure everyone is safe.

You can watch her full chat from News Breakfast earlier this morning below:

Loading...

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) saw a record-low demand yesterday, with demand falling to 11,393 megawatts at 12:30pm AEST.

That's 4.2% lower than the previous lowest record, which was set in November last year.

So what does this mean? That the total amount of electricity supplied by grid-scale generation in the National Electricity Market (NEM) at 12:30pm on September 17 was at its new record low.

That was due to residential rooftop solar displacing the need for grid-scale generation, because consumers' solar systems were contributing 49.6% of the total (or underlying) demand.

(The NEM includes all states and territories, except WA and the NT).

Additionally, South Australia also saw a new operational minimum demand record on September 16 at 1:30pm, with 21 megawatts — making it the lowest operational demand a state has ever reached in the NEM.

As new RBA governor Michele Bullock arrived for her first day on the job, she briefly spoke to awaiting reporters.

She said she was "excited" about her first day as the central bank's governor, but there were "big challenges ahead".

"[I'm] looking forward to working for the people of Australia," she said.

First on the agenda? A meeting with staff.

But she refused to be drawn on whether people will see more rate hikes in the future.

"I won't be talking about that just now, thanks," she replied before entering the building.

Did you know you can get notifications about the latest business and money news direct to your devices through theABC News app? Here's how:

If you don't have the app:

1. 1.Download it bytapping this linkfrom your device and selecting the App Store or Google Play
2. 2.Download the app to your device
3. 3.When you first open the app, you'll be invited to subscribe to any news alerts which interest you. For all things business and finance, select the Money category 🙋‍♀️

If you already have the app:

• Open the app, then tap theSettingsicon in the top-right corner:

• Then scroll down toNotifications, where you can subscribe to the alerts you want. For business news, tap the Money category 🙋‍♀️

Enjoy!

Even though the Senate Committee on Commonwealth Bilateral Air Service Agreements was established to examine why Qatar Airways was rejected for additional flights (among other things) the airline won't appear at the committee's first public hearing tomorrow.

Committee member and Labor Senator Tony Sheldon says it was "very disappointing" that Qatar Airways refused to accept the invitation.

"If the Liberals and Nationals want to give Qatar’s state-owned airline open entry, the Senate needs to scrutinise its practices," the senator said.

"[Qatar Airways CEO Akbar] Al Baker should front up to this inquiry rather than provide commentary about Australia from the other side of the world.

"Mr Al Baker is no more above the law or parliamentary scrutiny than [Qantas chairman Richard] Goyder or [Qantas CEO Vanessa] Hudson, and I expect to see all of them at this inquiry.

"Qatar Airways and the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority need to be hauled before this committee in the coming days."

Tomorrow's first public hearing will be held in Sydney, before moving to Perth for a second hearing on Friday.

Hearings will resume the following week in Brisbane before heading to Canberra.

A report is expected to be handed down in October.

The Philip Lowe era at the Reserve Bank ended last Friday after 43 years.

In his final public appearance, Mr Lowe said he was proud of his record, but admitted the latter part of his tenure became defined by his forward guidance on rates.

Michele Bullock takes over the helm today, but it's likely her start will be without fanfare — her first meeting as governor next month is not expected to see a change to the cash rate.

Former RBA economist and now lecturer at Monash University, Zac Gross, says it's too soon to write Philip Lowe's final report card.

You can watch his full chat with Close of Business host Rachel Pupazzoni below:

Loading...

Before the market closes for the day, here's how things are looking at 2:30pm AEST:

• ASX 200:-0.6% at 7,237 points (live figures below)
• All Ords:-0.7% at 7,434 points
• Australian dollar:+0.2% at 64.42 US cents
• Nikkei:+1.1% to 33,533 points
• Hang Seng:-1% to 18,001 points
• Shanghai:flat at 3,118 points
• Dow Jones:-0.8% to 34,618 points (Fri)
• S&P 500:-1.2% to 4,450 points (Fri)
• Nasdaq:-1.6% to 13,708 points (Fri)
• FTSE:+0.5% to 7,711 points (Fri)
• Spot gold:+0.3% at $US1,929.10/ounce
• Brent crude:+0.5% at $US94.36/barrel
• Iron ore:$US121.30/tonne
• Bitcoin:+0.7% at $US26,631

Live updates on the major ASX indices:

You're going to be hearing a lot about the interest rate decisions made by other central banks this week — and while I don't have a crystal ball about what the outcome will be, I can tell you what analysts are predicting to happen.

The US Federal Reserve, Bank of England and Bank of Japan are all meeting this week to decide what to do with its cash rate policy, with the Fed up first.

It also comes after the European Central Bank (ECB) lifted rates to 4% at its latest meeting — the highest level since the Euro launched — with its president Christine Lagarde hinting rates may have now peaked.

Here's what analysts are currently thinking each central bank will do:

• US Federal Reserve: 99% chance of hold
• Bank of England: 71% chance of 0.25 percentage point hike
• Bank of Japan: expected to remain unchanged

Speaking ahead of the Fed's meeting (Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC), head of research at Pepperstone, Chris Weston, said it shouldn't result in too many surprises.

"In theory, the FOMC meeting should be a low-volatility affair, but it is a risk that needs to be managed," he said.

"We should see the median projection for the 2023 fed funds rate remaining at 5.6%, offering the bank the flexibility to hike again in November, should the data warrant it."

Of course, these aren't set in stone — we'll have to wait until each central bank's respective meeting to know for sure.

If you missed this over the weekend,Qatar Airways has branded the Albanese government's decision to block additional flights to Australia "very unfair" after the airline helped get Australians home during the pandemic.

Federal Transport Minister Catherine King denied a request from the Gulf state carrier to double its 28 weekly services to Australia, amid Qantas opposition.

The airline's chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, broke his silence on Saturday, telling CNN he was "very surprised" the rights were blocked.

"We found it to be very unfair, our legitimate request to be not granted, especially at a time when we were so supportive of Australia," he said.

Some had praised Qatar for maintaining flights into and out of Australia during the pandemic, even when domestic carriers stopped flying.

"[We were] repatriating stranded citizens from around the world to and out of Australia, helping them receiving medical supplies and spare parts, et cetera, during the COVID period when the national carrier and their partners completely stopped operating in Australia," Mr Al Baker said.

"We were there for the people of Australia."

You can continue reading this story below:

Oil prices are pushing higher on Monday over concerns of a broader supply shortage as Saudi Arabia and Russia extended production cuts, while China is showing signs that its demand for crude is recovering.

Brent crude prices are up 0.3% to $US94.23 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude is around $US90.78 a barrel.

"China's stimulus policy, resilient US economic data, and OPEC+'s ongoing output cuts are the bullish factors that support the oil market's upside movement," CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng said, referring to a reserve ratio cut by China's central bank last week to boost liquidity and support its economy.

Brent and WTI have climbed for three consecutive weeks to touch their highest levels since November after Saudi Arabia and Russia extended supply cuts to the end of the year as part of the OPEC+ group's plans and as Chinese refineries ramped up output, driven by strong export margins.

Both contracts are also on track for their biggest quarterly increase since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in the first quarter of 2022.

"Production cuts, led by Saudi Arabia, stabilised the market in July but are now likely to push the market into a 2 million bpd (barrels per day) deficit in Q4," ANZ analysts said in a note.

Global oil demand growth, on the other hand, is on track to hit 2.1 million bpd, they added, in line with forecasts from the International Energy Agency and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

"The subsequent drawdown in inventories in Q4 leaves the market exposed to further price spikes in 2024," ANZ said.

— with Reuters

The Australian sharemarket is continuing to trade lower on Monday, down 0.7% to 7,231 points as of 12:40pm AEST.

(For live figures, head to the top of the blog and open up the pinned post.)

All of the 11 sectors are in the red, with technology leading the falls, down 1.6%.

Xero is down by 3.8%, and WiseTech Global has shed 2.5%.

Energy is down 1.4%, and industrials and academic and educational services down 1.2% each.

Health care has the smallest loss, only shedding 0.3%, with utilities, basic materials and real estate dipping by 0.4% each.

The top five performers so far:

• Alumina +2.4%
• Paladin Energy +2.3%
• NRW Holdings +1.6%
• Perpetual +1.45
• Bellevue Gold +1.3%

The bottom five performers:

• Genesis Minerals -6.1%
• Weebit Nano -5.9%
• Washington H Soul Pattinson -5.5%
• PEXA Group -4%
• Credit Corp Group -3.9%

Here's how things are faring as of12:30pm AEST:

• ASX 200:-0.7% at 7,231 points (live figures below)
• All Ords:-0.7% at 7,429 points
• Australian dollar:+0.1% at 64.39 US cents
• Nikkei:+1.1% to 33,533 points
• Hang Seng: -0.5% to 18,080 points
• Shanghai: +0.1% to 3,121 points
• Dow Jones:-0.8% to 34,618 points (Fri)
• S&P 500:-1.2% to 4,450 points (Fri)
• Nasdaq:-1.6% to 13,708 points (Fri)
• FTSE:+0.5% to 7,711 points (Fri)
• Spot gold:+0.1% at $US1,925.63/ounce
• Brent crude:+0.4% at $US94.33/barrel
• Iron ore:$US121.30/tonne
• Bitcoin:+1% at $US26,695

Live updates on the major ASX indices:

If current losses hold, Aussie tech stocks could see their biggest fall since August 25, after dipping by 2.8% this morning.

The fall in Australian tech stocks follows the losses on Wall Street on Friday, with the Nasdaq down 1.6% after chipmakers and megacap growth companies dropped.

Software company Xero has fallen by as much as 4.1% so far, while WiseTech Global and Altium have slid by as much as 2.9% and 2.7% respectively.

It's certainly one to keep an eye on throughout the day, that's for sure 👀

Whitehaven Coal has issued a statement on the ASX confirming it is in talks to buy the Daunia and Blackwater coal mines in Queensland from the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance.

The statement from the mining company follows a report in today's Australian Financial Review, and says the process is "ongoing".

"As communicated in Whitehaven's FY23 Results Announcement on 24 August, Whitehaven's share buy-back has been temporarily suspended while the company is considering application of its capital allocation framework in light of growth opportunities," the company said.

"Whitehaven confirms that those opportunities include the Daunia and Blackwater mines.

"Whitehaven will continue to keep the market informed in accordance with its continuous disclosure obligations."

(Video) Webinar | 12 September 2023 - Market Outlook Trends, Events, Set ups