“Having control over both the legislative and executive branches could theoretically lead to sweeping changes to policy,” Vasu Menon, investment strategy executive director at OCBC Bank told Reuters.
“With Biden proposing to reverse President Donald Trump’s tax cut, increase the minimum wage, and strengthen oversight on various industries, some might argue that his agenda is not particularly market-friendly.”
Broad losses across a number of sectors weighed the market on Wednesday, with a number of blue chips tumbling.
CSL dropped 2.5 per cent to $278.38, Woolworths declined 1.3 per cent to $39.65, Macquarie Group fell 2.4 per cent to $135.82, Goodman Group slid 2 per cent to $18.90, Wesfarmers dipped 1.5 per cent to $50.49, Coles Group slipped 1.5 per cent to $18.34 and Rio Tinto lost 1.7 per cent to $115.75.
The major banks also weighed on the market although their losses were more modest. Commonwealth Bank fell 0.4 per cent to $82.90, NAB slid 1.2 per cent to $22.41, ANZ dropped 0.8 per cent to $22.78 and Westpac declined 0.8 per cent to $19.37.
Technology was the worst performing sector on the market, led by Afterpay, tumbling 4.5 per cent to $113.56.
Xero dropped 3.1 per cent to $148.00, NEXTDC slid 4 per cent to $11.80, Computershare declined 2.3 per cent to $14.12, WiseTech Global fell 3.7 per cent to $28.91, Megaport slipped 4.7 per cent to $13.53 and Altium lost 2.8 per cent to close at $33.08.
The healthcare sector was also weaker. Nanosonics tumbled 7.1 per cent to $7.47, PolyNovo lost 6.4 per cent to $3.68 and Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals dropped 3.8 per cent to $21.23.
Both the technology and healthcare sectors had rallied firmly following the November election, hopeful a gridlocked congress would stymie any chance of drastic regulation.
The energy sector spared the market further blushes, with the price of crude rising close to 5 per cent after OPEC+ agreed to cut production in response to rising lockdowns across Europe, surprising market expectations.
Woodside Petroleum added 1.7 per cent to $23.18, Santos firmed 2.1 per cent to $6.47, Oil Search advanced 5.7 per cent to $3.89, Origin Energy climbed 2.1 per cent to $4.89 and Beach Energy closed 2 per cent higher at $1.83.
IGO was also among the market’s best performers, rising 4.4 per cent to $7.05 as the price of copper climbed to a near eight-year high.
Zip Co. shares rose 0.9 per cent to $5.36 after it signed a partnership with AsiaPay, a leading digital payment service and technology player in Asia, allowing merchants the ability to accept digital wallet payments via Zip.
Travel stocks also traded slightly higher on Wednesday. Webjet rose 0.6 per cent to $5.05 and Flight Centre climbed 0.2 per cent to $15.65.
The first new listing of the year, TruScreen Group, made a strong start to listed life, rising 46.8 per cent to 9.6¢ on its debut. The company raised $NZ2 million ($1.87 million) at an issue price of NZ7¢ (6.6¢) a share and will be dual listed on the New Zealand Exchange.
With Reuters