The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.54 per cent in November, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices, with declines across the top Australian indices except for the S&P/ASX MidCap 50.
Concerns surrounding the Omicron variant of COVID-19 led to a repeat of October’s market movements with the S&P/ASX 200 falling into the red during the final trading sessions of the month.
The index has now fallen for three consecutive months but remains up 14.10 per cent year-to-date following strong performance earlier in the year.
The outperforming S&P/ASX MidCap 50 moved 1.23 per cent higher for the month and has now risen 16.42 per cent year-to-date.
After gaining more than 4 per cent in October, microcap stocks tracked by the S&P/ASX Emerging Companies Index dipped 0.41 per cent in November but have surged 37.78 per cent year-to-date.
Energy was the worst performing S&P/ASX 200 sector during the month and dropped 8.34 per cent.
This also pushed the sector into the red year-to-date with a fall of 1.72 per cent.
Financials was the second worst performer with a decline of 6.94 per cent while the sector’s year-to-date rise is at 20.05 per cent.
Falls were also recorded for the information technology (-2.87 per cent) and consumer discretionary (-1.25 per cent) sectors.
Materials was the top sector for November with a gain of 6.32 per cent, which S&P Dow Jones Indices noted had helped prevent a bigger decline for the broader index by pulling it up 1 per cent.
There were also positive movements for communication services (5.20 per cent), consumer staples (4.45 per cent), real estate (4.25 per cent) and utilities (3.88 per cent), with smaller gains for health care (1.41 per cent) and industrials (0.93 per cent).
S&P Dow Jones Indices also highlighted a 4.21 per cent fall for the S&P/NZX 50 Portfolio Index, with a similar fall for the New Zealand dollar against the US dollar despite interest rates rising for the second month in a row.
Jon Bragg
Jon Bragg is a journalist for Momentum Media's Investor Daily, nestegg and ifa. He enjoys writing about a wide variety of financial topics and issues and exploring the many implications they have on all aspects of life.
