ASX today

The S&P 500 tumbled almost 3.9 per cent into a bear market overnight as recession fears mounted. The fall added to a 2.9 per cent loss on Friday. The ASX 200 ...

BHP‘s US-traded depositary receipts added to Friday’s 2.76 per cent fall with an overnight loss of 4.21 per cent. The Aussie went into the long weekend near 71 US cents and was this morning down 1.35 per cent at 69.24 US cents. McDonald’s was the only one of the Average’s 30 companies to advance, gaining 0.46 per cent. “Metals outlook in the near term is likely to remain under pressure. Turning to the week ahead, the week’s big-ticket item on the domestic economic calendar is Thursday’s May employment report. Major Asian markets suffered falls of up to 3.4 per cent yesterday. The energy sector dropped more than 5 per cent even as crude prices rose. At one point overnight, every stock on the S&P 500 was in the red. The S&P 500 dived 151 points or 3.88 per cent. An index of gold miners dropped more than 6 per cent. ASX futures have fallen a combined 289 points or almost 4.2 per cent across the Queen’s Birthday weekend. Bitcoin and Ethereum fell more than 14 per cent.

The ASX 200 has had a clanger so far today. But the Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price is defying the market...

We think IAG’s turnaround is on track, and this should lead to strong earnings growth over the next 12 months. Last week, we also covered the views of David Cassidy, head of investment strategy at Wilsons. He singled out IAG as his pick of the ASX insurers. IAG started the day deep in the red, opening at just $4.02 a share after closing at $4.18 last week. But while most ASX 200 shares have copped a commensurate beating alongside the ASX 200, that is most certainly not the case for the Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price. Considering the ASX 200 is down by 4.14%, this means that the IAG share price is outperforming the market by more than 4% – a mean feat for any share at any time. This insurance company is actually in the green, up 0.12% so far today to $4.18 a share.

Wall Street was officially dubbed a "bear market" overnight, which in economic terms means prices are falling and investors are feeling encouraged to sell. A ...

The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. Jefferies joined Barclays on Monday in predicting that the Federal Reserve would hike rates by three-quarters of a percentage point, an action the Fed hasn't taken since 1994. The Nasdaq was down by 4.7 per cent and has tumbled more than 10 per cent in the past two trading sessions. Today's results on the local index follow those of Wall Street overnight, where soaring inflation in the US has fuelled fears of an economic recession. TheAustralian sharemarketshed almost $90 billion in value in a horror day as investors eye the implication of Wall Street entering a "bear market".

There are fears we could be on the verge of another global recession and investors are spooked.

And the opposite of a bear market is a bull market, because bulls charge. "We are also a major commodity exporting nation, so when commodity prices fall the Australian share market falls.That is because miners and banks are the heavyweights on the market. There's a few theories on where the term "bear market" comes from. On Monday, the US share market dropped by 3.9 per cent and the S&P index — regarded as one of the best measurements to track the US share market — confirmed it was in a bear market. And because what happens on Wall Street impacts the Australian share market, local investors also pulled their money from the market when it opened. And this really spooked investors trading on the US share market — aka Wall Street — and when some investors get spooked, they rush to sell off their shares before their market value drops any further.