Latest news
Aussie shares are losing ground for the seventh consecutive day, with falls across all sectors dragging the ASX 200 index down 0.7 per cent. At lunch the local market has shed 3.3 per cent in just five days, making it the worst week since early February. Putting this in context however, the broader market hit fresh 10.5 year highs just last week.
Energy stocks are falling heavily following a 1 per cent slide in oil prices. Santos (STO) has completed the sale of its non-core Asian assets and will receive US$144m in cash. The energy stock aims to use the cash to pay down its debt further. STO shares are down 2.6 per cent.
CSL Limited (CSL) is down 3 per cent and is the main weight on the market at lunch. Over the course of the week, the biotechnology firm has slumped by more 8 per cent. While no specific company news was released in recent days, the business has been surging recently. Not only is CSL the largest company in the healthcare sector, it has hit record highs many times in 2018, is up 50 per cent Year-to-Date and is trading well above $200 per share.
While mining stocks are mostly higher, losses from BHP Billiton (BHP) continue to weight on the sector. The miner – the largest in Australia’s resource sector – is down 0.9 per cent and is down 6 per cent this week after trading ex-dividend for its 85c/share final dividend.
James Hardie (JHX) has appointed Jack Truong as the building product company’s new CEO. Mr Truong is a senior manager who has been working with the group for over a year and is expected to take the reins at the end of 2019.
Domino’s (DMP) is up 3 per cent. The pizza maker released a statement addressing the Fair Work Ombudsman’s investigation regarding the underpayment of workers. DMP said that 20 team members across 19 stores were underpaid by a total of $2,000.
1bn shares have changed hands on Friday worth $2.2bn. 376 stocks are up, 619 are down and 367 are flat.
Published by CommSec