The Australian share market plunged 2.3 per cent and ended at session lows one day after Australia’s central bank cut rates to a record low. Poorly received updates and stock losses from Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX:CBA) and Woolworths Limited
(ASX:WOW) weighed on the broader bourse. On the economic front official figures showed retail sales rose less than expected in March while new home sales were shown to have risen 4.4 per cent in the same month.
Figures
The S&P/ASX 200 index retreated 134 points to close at 5,692.
The value of trades was $7 billion on volume of 935 million shares at the close of trade.
The top three stocks by value were Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX:CBA), ANZ Banking Group
(ASX:ANZ) and Westpac Banking Corporation
(ASX:WBC).
On the futures market the SPI is 149 points lower.
Company news
Shares in Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX:CBA) were sold off after the bank posted a flat cash profit in the third quarter of the 2015 financial year. The bank’s quarterly cash profit came in at $2.2 billion and its stock price saw the biggest daily share price plunge since the GFC. Shares in Commonwealth Bank retreated 5.85 per cent to end the session at $82.98.
Shares in Woolworths Limited
(ASX:WOW) sank after reporting lower quarterly sales and outlining its three year growth strategy. Woolies expects to deliver more than $500 million of cost reductions across FY15-16 and focus on improving the supermarket customer experience. Shares in Woolworths dropped 5.03 per cent to end the session at $28.14.
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp
(ASX:NWS) has posted softer third quarter revenue after the media conglomerate suffered lower advertising sales for its newspapers and battled with currency fluctuations.
The operator of the Australian Securities Exchange ASX Limited
(ASX:ASX) has increased its profit by 4.1 per cent in the nine months to the end of March on the back of growth in market activity.
Media company Fairfax Media Limited
(ASX:FXJ) has seen its revenues rise almost 1 per cent in the first four months of this year.
Shares in TPG Telecom Limited
(ASX:TPM) rose after iiNet Limited
(ASX:IIN) backed the telco’s sweetened $1.56 billion takeover offer.
Best and worst performers
The sector with the fewest losses was energy, easing 0.2 per cent to close at 11,919.
The worst performing sector was financials excluding real estate investment trusts, losing 3.4 per cent to close at 7,512 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Sundance Energy Australia Limited
(ASX:SEA), rising 7.32 per cent to close at $0.66. Shares in AWE Limited
(ASX:AWE) and Evolution Mining Limited
(ASX:EVN) also closed higher.
The worst performing stock was REA Group Limited
(ASX:REA), dropping 10.32 per cent to close at $43.12. Shares in Greencross Limited
(ASX:GXL) and Liquefied Natural Gas Limited
(ASX:LNG) also closed lower.
Commodities
Gold is buying $US1,196 an ounce.
Light crude is $1.47 higher at $US60.40 a barrel.
Currencies
The Australian dollar is buying $US0.7966.
