Industrials and miners weigh down ASX; Kathmandu drops

“Indicative interest has been provided from some of these parties, and they are currently undertaking due diligence of the company to determine if support will be forthcoming,” the company said in a statement to the ASX.

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Booktopia is hoping to provide a further update by the “end of next week”. It has been more than a week since the company requested a share trading halt that turned into a suspension.

Meanwhile, the consumer staples sector (up 0.9 per cent) was among the strongest on the local bourse, with shares of supermarket giant Woolworths gaining 2.1 per cent. Gold miners were among the biggest large-cap advancers: Evolution was up 2.2 per cent and Newmont 2.1 per cent.

Shares of hearing implants maker Cochlear bounced back after slipping 4.8 per cent on Thursday. They are up 2.5 per cent, propelling the healthcare sector to a gain of 0.9 per cent. Mercury NZ shares rose 2.7 per cent, helping to lift the utilities sector by 1 per cent.

On Wall Street overnight, US stock indices edged back from their recent records, weighed down by a dip in the shares of market darling Nvidia, following a mixed set of reports on the American economy.

The S&P 500 Index dropped 0.3 per cent from its record high set before Wednesday’s public holiday. The Nasdaq Composite Index also pulled back from its record with a loss of 0.8 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average performed best, with a gain of 0.8 per cent.

Nvidia shares lost 3.5 per cent, putting at risk their eight-week winning streak.

The chip company has been the main beneficiary of Wall Street’s frenzy around artificial-intelligence (AI), and it had supplanted Microsoft on Tuesday as the market’s most valuable company. The stumble ceded the top spot back to Microsoft.

Nvidia’s chips are helping to power the move into AI, which proponents see producing explosive growth in productivity and profits, and its shares are up more than 160 per cent this year, after more than tripling in 2023.

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Besides raising worries about a potential bubble where investors’ excitement is getting excessive, the eye-popping gains for Nvidia and other AI winners have helped prop up the market, despite some weakness in the US economy.

High interest rates meant to grind down inflation have hurt the US housing market and manufacturing, while lower-income households are showing signs of struggling to keep up with still-rising prices.

In the bond market, Treasury yields ticked higher following a spate of mixed reports on the economy.

The number of US workers filing for unemployment benefits eased last week, but not by as much as economists expected. A separate report said manufacturing was growing, but not as quickly as economists thought. Home builders broke ground on fewer new homes last month than expected.

The hope on Wall Street is for a slowdown in US economic growth. That could help keep a lid on inflationary pressures and convince the Federal Reserve to cut its main interest rate later this year. Such a cut could release pressure on the economy and further boost equity prices.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.25 per cent, from 4.22 per cent late Tuesday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, rose to 4.73 per cent, from 4.71 per cent.

With AP

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