End of Day – Tue 25 Jan

• The ASX 200 crumbled 178 points to 6962 ahead of the Australia Day holiday and anticipating more volatility in US markets as FOMC kicks off. CPI kicked higher on fuel and housing and left a giant hole in market sentiment. Banks were hit hard with the Big Bank Basket melting to $169.78 (-2.5%) and other financials also in the doghouse. QBE down 4.5%, IAG off 2.5% and MQG down 2.3%. Platform stocks also under pressure with NWL down 2.8% and HUB off 2.0%. Healthcare too was under pressure led lower by CSL down 1.6% and SHL falling 2.5%. 
• Industrials sold off heavily across the board, TCL down 1.6%, REA down 2.6%, XRO kicked 3.5% lower and WOW off 1.7%. REITs also under some pressure, GMG falling 2.4% and CHC whacked 6.2%. Tech stocks inevitably hit with SQ2 down 4.2% and XRO heading down 3.5%. In miners, it was once again the lithium players that were depressed. It has been a huge run and inevitable some of the more leverage punters would be forced to liquidate whatever they had. PLS down 6.3% AKE off 7.7% and MIN falling 7.5% all stand outs for the wrong reasons. Iron ore miners held up a little better but BHP still down 1.3% and RIO down 0.8% despite a win with the Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia. Energy stocks eased with STO down 4.8% and WPL dropping heavily off 4.0%.
•  In company news, CDA surprised the market with a very positive update rising 16.9%, FMG production report showed a bigger discount to 62% fines and the stock fell 5.0%. A2M saw a 7.1% rise after some takeover rumours swirled and WAF dropped 16.9% on Burkina Faso updates following a military coup. 
• On the economic front it was all about the CPI and fuel and housing price rises. With the headline at 3.5% the RBA will be challenged on the pace of rate normalisation here. Market very skittish on this. The AUD slipping to 71.42c. Asian markets weak as Lunar New Year beckons, Japan down 2.0%, HK off 1.2% and China down 0.8%. 10-year yields up to 1.95%.

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