Australian stocks dip as gold hits another record high

Eight of the ASX’s 11 sectors were lower at midday on Friday.

The local share market is slightly lower with morning traders adjusting to the reality interest rates likely won’t be reduced anytime soon, although goldminers are continuing their show of strength.

At noon AEST on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 19.8 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 7,793.8, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 21.4 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 7,052.7.

With a few hours of trading left in the week, the ASX200 was still on track for a 0.3 per cent rise thanks to gains Monday through Wednesday.

But a higher-than-expected inflation readout Wednesday night in the United States has since caused markets to reassess how quickly the Federal Reserve might start trimming interest rates, a decision that will influence other central banks around the world.

The market’s implied odds of the Fed cutting rates by its July 31 meeting had dropped to roughly 50-50, according to the CME Fedwatch Tool.

Overnight the European Central Bank left its key benchmark interest rate unchanged, saying while inflation was easing somewhat, domestic price pressures and service-side inflation was still high.

Eight of the ASX’s 11 sectors were lower at midday, with tech and utilities a bit higher and health care flat.

Consumer staples was the biggest mover, dropping 1.0 per cent as Coles fell 1.2 per cent and Treasury Wine Estate 1.8 per cent.

The heavyweight mining sector was on track for its first losses of the week, down 0.4 per cent as BHP dropped 1.1 per cent, Fortescue 0.7 per cent and Rio Tinto 0.4 per cent.

Goldminers were ascendant was the yellow metal pushed further into record territory at $US,2393 an ounce, continuing its bull run of the past three weeks.

Evolution had gained 1.6 per cent, Northern Star was 0.8 per cent higher and mid-tier miners like Regis, Genesis and Red5 were all up around five per cent.

In the energy sector, uranium miners were doing well, with Deep Yellow up 5.4 per cent and Boss Energy advancing 3.7 per cent.

The Big Four banks were mostly lower, with ANZ dropping 0.3 per cent and NAB and CBA both down 0.6 per cent.

The Star had dropped 7.3 per cent to a three-week low of 50.5c after the beleaguered casino operator said its premium gaming rooms had underperformed during the third quarter, with revenue at the Star Sydney down 19.3 per cent from a year ago.

Cettire had fallen 5.4 per cent to $3.17 as the online luxury retailer said it made $256.7 million in gross revenue in the third quarter, nearly double its gross revenue from a year ago.

The Australian dollar was buying 65.38 US cents, from 65.22 US cents at Thursday’s ASX close.