ASX 200 closed down 4 points to 7193 (-0.1%) after hitting its lowest levels in nearly five weeks amid a sharp selloff in big heavyweight banks. NAB -6.4% was hammered today despite ROE surging to 13.7%, the highest level since 2019, as its net interest margin fell short of expectations falling to 1.77% down from 1.79% in the December quarter. CBA -2.6%, ANZ -2.4%, WBC -4.1%, MQG -0.8%, Big Bank Basket tumbles 3.4% to $167.19. REITS best-performing sector today recovering yesterday’s losses up 2.0%, GMG +1.8%, SCG +2.5%, and SGP +2.3%. Mining and base metals in positive territory today BHP up 1.6%, RIO up 1.3%, and FMG rose 1.5%. Safe haven Gold rallies, NST +2.5%, AGG +2.2%, and EVN +7.2%. Interest rate-sensitive tech sector strong, SQ2 +3.4%, XRO +1.8%, and WTC +1.2%. Defensive sectors Healthcare and Staples underwhelmed failing to find support, WOW down 0.2%, EDV off 0.6%, RHC down 2.2%, and RMD slipped 0.2%. Lithium was a little mixed PLS up 2.2% and MIN off 4.6%. Industrials and insurers mixed, MPL up 1.7% while SUN fell 0.3%. In corporate news, WBC, ANZ, and MQG passed on Tuesday’s RBA rate hike to borrowers, MFG +3.4% reported net outflows of $2.4bn, and HLS +0.3% rejected takeover bid from ACL. In economic news, Australia posted its largest trade surplus since last June, the trade surplus rose to $15.2bn in March up from $14.1bn in the previous month, significantly higher than expectations of a $12.6bn gain. China’s PMI unexpectedly fell to 49.5 in April from 50 in March missing consensus of 50.3, marking the first contraction in factory activity since January. Asian markets rose broadly, Japan closed, HK up 0.8% with China up 0.6%. Australia 10Y yield down 3.31%. Bitcoin down 0.17%. Dow Jones futures up 53 points and Nasdaq futures up 57 points.
 
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