- The ASX200 is trading 0.27% lower at 7569.60 after lunchtime.
- Afterpay shares hit by Block's poor session on Wall St overnight.
- Critical Resources soars 20% after completing Mavis Lake lithium project acquisition.
The Australian market is following Wall Street?s lead from overnight to trade lower after midday as a sell-off in tech stocks weighs down the key index. The healthcare sector and communication services sector are also down more than 1.5% in the session so far.
The tech sector?s more than 2% tumble today is led by Technology One shedding 4%, Tyro Payments down 3.6% and Xero trading 3.5% lower.
Bitcoin is trading 0.3% higher over the last 24-hours at US$46,207.23 at 1:15pm AEDT.
Afterpay shares are taking a hit today despite no price sensitive announcements from the BNPL leader. The company?s acquirer, Block (formerly Square) tumbled on Wall St overnight which affects the Afterpay share price on the ASX as investors continue to assess the dwindling value of the takeover in the form of an all-scrip deal. The Block share price has fallen in the past few months meaning the value of the Afterpay takeover has gone from the original $39bn to now around $24.7bn. Investors are also worried about a potential regulatory crackdown on the BNPL sector in the US.
Making headlines, Critical Resources shares are soaring almost 20% today after the emerging base metals and critical minerals exploration company announced it has completed the 100% acquisition of the Mavis Lake lithium project in Ontario, Canada. The company plans to begin exploration drilling targeting battery grade lithium as soon as the permitting is completed as well as having multiple targets to explore and milestones set out by the vendors of 5 million and 10 million tonnes.
And Sony has revealed its upgraded PlayStation VR 2 headset at the CES conference for 2022, boasting 4K HDR, 110-degree field of view and new sensory features including 3D audio and eye-tracking capabilities.