Market Wrap / Seek-ing trouble

The S&P/ASX 200 gave up yesterday’s gains, closing 0.45% lower at 9208.9, with 9 of 11 sectors in the red.

The decline followed losses on Wall Street, while uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz continued to weigh on sentiment, despite Pakistan’s defence minister saying the US and Iran are “close to some sort of arrangement”.

Financials added to the weakness, falling 0.76%, with Commonwealth Bank down 0.7% after reporting a 15% drop in mortgage applications since the federal budget - following Westpac’s 20% decline reported earlier this week.

Consumer stocks were also under pressure, with both discretionary and staples lower today. Super Retail Group and Lovisa led the declines, both falling more than 4%.

Among individual movers, Seek fell over 14% after a jump in full-year profit was overshadowed by a $200 million write-down of software-as-a-service investments in its Seek Growth Fund.

ASX Ltd dropped 2.8% after disclosing that shareholder Rosherville is proposing Federal Court action over the troubled CHESS replacement project.

There were some pockets of strength. Bravura Solutions added 12.5% after reporting a near-50% increase in full-year profit.

Suncorp rose 3.3% despite a 44% fall in net profit to $1.03bn, after announcing a 10-cent special dividend and an additional $250m share buyback.

FleetPartners advanced nearly 6% after SG Fleet raised its offer to $4 a share, matching Element Fleet Management’s bid, while ORIX has offered $3.80.

Later tonight, all eyes turn to US CPI, with investors looking for fresh clues on the inflation and interest rate outlook. Oil markets will also be in focus, alongside OPEC’s monthly report and US crude inventories.