RBA eases concerns about rising housing prices: Aus shares trading 0.4% lower at noon

Falls in consumer staples and energy drove the Australian sharemarket downwards in the early hours of trade. Tech shares have gained momentum from the stateside stocks’ rally overnight but failed to neutralise the negative effect of losses in other sectors.

At noon, the ASX200 is tracking 0.4 per cent lower or 31 points down at 6968. Its futures are pointing to a fall of 0.3 per cent.

Economic news

The RBA’s Financial Stability Review has reiterated that the central bank is closely monitoring the rise in real estate prices. However, the Reserve Bank has not detected the same trend developing in the debt sector. While highlighting the risk that excessively optimistic borrowers pose to the average quality of new lending, the financial watchdog does not recognise a downgrade in credit standards.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Information Technology, adding 0.7 per cent, while the worst-performing sector is Constumer Staples, shedding 1.3 per cent.

The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Silver Lake Resources (ASX:SLR), rising 5.5 per cent to $13.25. It's followed by shares in Kogan.com (ASX:KGN) and Westgold Resuorces (ASX:WGX).

The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is HUB24 (ASX:HUB), shedding 3.9 per cent to $21.50. It's followed by shares in Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC) and Corporate Travel Management (ASX:CTD).

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,754 an ounce.
The iron ore price has fallen 0.3 per cent to US$173.10 a ton.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 1.2 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 76.41 US cents.

 
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Source: Finance News Network