- ASX down 0.17% to 6812.1 points at 1pm AEDT.
- Unibail, Afterpay pace decliners.
- Retail sales down 4.2% in December: ABS.
The S&P/ASX200 is down 0.17% to 6812.1 points in morning trade, with the energy, tech and resources sectors dragging the market.
Weighing the market, Unibail has shed 6.96%, while Afterpay has dropped 4.72%. Investment company Washington H. Soul Pattinson has lost 4.24% after pricing a AUD$225M unsecured senior convertible note, which will be used to pay down a AUD$200M debt.
Lynas Rare Earths is leading the gains, up 13.18% after it announced a US$30M investment in a plant in Texas, while Fisher & Paykel has added 5.99% on a revised earnings forecast. Wesfarmers has lifted 2.95% and Csl gained 2.55%.
The Aussie dollar is buying US$0.78, ?0.64 and ?80.29 at 1pm AEDT.
Making headlines, Aussie Broadband said first-half profit is expected to be between $6.9M and $7.4M on the back of an 88% rise in new connections in the 12 months to December.
And retail sales dropped 4.2% in December, according to ABS data, down from a 7.1% increase in November but higher than the expected 1.5% decline forecast by economists. Turnover rose 9.4% compared to December 2019.