ASX shakes off negative session on Wall Street to end Tuesday flat

The Australian sharemarket took a slight hit on Tuesday, as many investors sold technology stocks amid concerns about artificial intelligence, but a strong day for commodities levelled the day.

The ASX 200 ended flat, losing 3.7 points to 9022.30 while the broader All Ordinaries dipped 7.2 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 9244.30.

Five of the 11 sectors ended the day in the red, including financials, health care, real estate, technology and consumer discretionary stocks.

The Australian dollar is buying 70.7 US cents.

Market analyst Tony Sycamore said the ASX was able to shake off a negative session on Wall Street to end the day flat.

“The losses on Wall Street came as investors played another session of Whack-a-Mole — hunting down the potential losers from AI disruption — while renewed uncertainty over US trade policy also weighed on US equity markets,” he said.

Mr Sycamore said the US Supreme Court decision to strike down President Donald Trump’s tariffs — which were then replaced with a 15 per cent global tariff — was good news for the Australian economy following Monday’s “shoot first and ask questions later” session.

“Firstly, this move will result in the average level of tariffs being reduced, which is a positive for global growth,” he said.

“Secondly, one of the big winners … is expected to be China — the world’s second-largest economy and Australia’s largest trading partner. “China is expected to see a net reduction in tariffs of roughly five to eight percentage points … which suggests some upside risks to the Chinese and global economy.

“This should more than offset the increase in the Australian tariff rate from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.”

Among the technology stocks, WiseTech Global fell 3.67 per cent, Xero was down 4.57 per cent and TechnologyOne dropped 3.75 per cent.

Financials also dragged the market, with Insurance Australia Group declining 3.30 per cent, QBE dipping 1.62 per cent and Steadfast dumping 5.41 per cent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ dipped 0.7 per cent after former chief executive Shayne Elliott dropped his legal action against the bank.

CBA trickled down 0.02 per cent, Westpac gained 1.45 per cent and NAB inched up 1.04 per cent.

Energy was the strongest sector, as crude oil rose above $US72 per barrel – the highest since August.

Woodside Energy gained 2.4 per cent, Santos nudged 0.44 per cent higher, Ampol climbed 1.06 per cent and BHP increased 1.35 per cent.

Lithium miners also surged following renewed optimism linked to a tightening supply, and stronger-than-expected demand from EVs and battery energy storage systems.

Core Lithium soared 9.52 per cent, Liontown Resources leapt 8.68 per cent, Iluka Resources gained 7.92 per cent, PLS climbed 8.01 per cent and Mineral Resources added 6.49 per cent.

Gold fell to below $US5200 an ounce, with many investors taking their money out.

In company news, Monadelphous rallied 5.91 per cent after a record half-year revenue of $1.53bn came in ahead of expectations.

Four-wheel-drive parts manufacturer ARB Corporation plummeted 13.06 per cent after its first-half profit fell 17.2 per cent.

Retailer Adore Beauty plunged 27.91 per cent after its net profit tumbled following huge discounts for Black Friday sales.

Southern Cross Media dived 9.02 per cent after revenue fell and costs climbed since merging with Seven West Media.

The January monthly inflation data will be revealed on Wednesday.

Woolworths, Flight Centre, Bapcor and Domino’s Pizza are also scheduled to report.