The Australian share market experienced a downturn on Thursday, primarily due to a 2.6% drop in tech stocks, which led to a 0.6% decline in the S&P/ASX 200 index to 6,812.3. This downward trajectory was influenced by mixed results from US tech giants Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL). Microsoft's stock value rose by 3.1% after positive profit reports, while Alphabet's stock plummeted by 9.5% due to losses in its cloud business.
Australian tech companies were not immune to this trend, with Xero, WiseTech, and Megaport also experiencing losses. Megaport suffered a significant drop of 16.3% following an underwhelming performance for the September quarter.
In contrast, utilities stocks saw an increase of 1.3%. The Australian dollar fell to a one-year low of US62.73c after Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock discussed higher-than-expected inflation data at Senate estimates.
In response to these inflationary pressures, Westpac's newly appointed chief economist Luci Ellis predicted a potential rate hike at the Reserve Bank of Australia's November meeting.
Meanwhile, Pilbara Minerals' stock fell by 0.5% to A$3.86 after it announced lower quarter figures than June by 42%, and dropped plans for a share buyback or special dividend.
Supermarket giant Coles reported a Q1 revenue result of A$9.18 billion, leading its stock to rise by 0.2% to A$14.98. Despite reporting a decrease in iron ore shipments for the September quarter, Fortescue Metals Group (OTC:FSUGY) saw a slight increase of 0.9% to A$22.21.
Other noteworthy events include Westpac's loss of A$173 million which led to a 0.9% drop in its stock value, and Azure Minerals' agreement to sell itself to SQM for A$1.63 billion, which caused a rally in its stock price.
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