End of Day Report – Wednesday 16 October: ASX 200 falls 34 points | Gold shines

ASX 200 closed 34 points down at 8285 (-0.4%) as China steadied. Normal service has been resumed, Banks up and resources down. Lithium stocks were hit hard after some downgrades from Macquarie. PLS off 3.6% and MIN down 2.3%. Oil and gas mixed after WDS reported quarterly better than expected. Big iron ore fell a little after RIO -1.1% missed expectations on ore shipments, BHP down 1.1%,  and FMG was unchanged. Gold miners were the superstars, EVN up 6.8% on a good quarterly report. NST up 1.8% and NEM up 2.6% with GMD rallying hard too. Banks were solid again, CBA up 0.4% and WBC up 0.6%. The Big Bank Basket rose to $241.39 (+0.5%). MQG slightly easier, insurers eased, QBE down 1.0% and SUN down 0.4%. Healthcare slid, CSL down 0.5% and RMD down 0.9%. PME fell 2.4% despite an order extension. Tech fell hard after US falls, XRO off 1.5% and WTC down 2.0%. The All-Tech Index down 1.3%. REITS solid with Telcos a little weaker. In corporate news, BOQ rose 6.5% on better-than-expected results, and CGF was down 4.6% after the guidance update. BBN up 2.4% after research upgrade, and ORA down 3.5% on a trading update on persistent soft volumes in Europe. Nothing on the economic front today. In Asian markets, Japan down 1.2% with China up 0.2% and HK up 0.9%. 10Y yields around 4.20%. Dow Futures down 18 points. NASDAQ Futures up 44 points. Why not sign up for a free trial? Get access to expert market insights and manage your investments with confidence. Ready to invest in yourself? Join the Marcus Today community.