Recession fears unleash panic in commodity markets
The energy sector fell 5.8 percent and materials stocks 5 percent. Beach Energy fell 8 percent to $1.61 and Woodside Energy 6.9 percent to $30.20. It was the sector’s worst one-day loss since May 2020. However, the big four banks rallied on the prospect of improving lending profits as they passed the Reserve Bank of Australia’s half a percentage point hike to the official interest rate. Selling stretched across Asian equity markets with Japan’s Nikkei 225 on track for a 1.1 percent loss, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index 2.3 percent and China’s CSI 300 Index 2 percent. Sentiment was shaken by news that Shanghai had launched mass COVID-19 testing in nine districts after detecting cases over the past two days, reigniting concerns about a return to lockdown in China’s financial hub. Citi warned a recession could lead to crude oil surging to $65 per barrel by year-end and falling further to $45 by the end of 2023, in the absence of intervention by OPEC+, and ...