The healthcare sector had worst performance, down 2.2%, followed by a 1.3% decline in financial stocks. On the other side, the info tech sector had Tuesday's best performance, up 2.7%, followed by a 1.3% gain in real estate.
The stocks that dragged on the market include CSL, down 2.5%, Wesfarmers dropped 3.8%, Woolworths fell 2.8%, and ASX Ltd declined 5.9%. The big four banks also declined - National Australia Bank fell the most with a 2.1% decline, as the RBA made clear the low interest rate environment will remain for some time, putting pressure on the bank's lending margins.
The session's biggest gain was 15.8% by PolyNovo, followed by a 12% gain in Flight Centre, and 11.4% increase in EML Payments. Computershare ended the day 8.2% higher despite telling shareholders earnings per share are likely to fall 20% year on year, more than previously advised.
ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia Posts A$4.361 Billion Trade Surplus In February- Australia posted a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of A$4.361 billion in February, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday, down from the downwardly adjusted A$4.745 billion surplus in January (originally A$5.210 billion). Exports fell A$1,882 million (5%) to A$37,760 million. Imports dropped A$1,498 million (4%) to A$33,399 million.
Australia AiG Services Sector Contracts Further In March- Australia service sector continued to contract in March with a Performance of Service Index score of 38.7, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed on Tuesday. That's down from 47.0 in February and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The services sector is now entering a difficult period of pandemic-related closures and adjustments from a base already weakened by summer's bushfire crisis and by longer-term factors. The index indicated stable conditions in finance & insurance but contractions in the five other sectors in March.
CURRENCY NEWS: The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 100.205 following an earlier high of 100.79. The Aussie dollar was up by 1.3% against the US dollar to US61.65 cents.
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