The Australian sharemarket slid 0.9 per cent today, despite a surprise pick up in Chinese manufacturing activity.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 37 points to finish at 4,226. On the futures market, the SPI is 37 points lower.
Australian economic newsNew home sales fell 4.9 per cent in December, reports the Housing Industry Association.
And Australian capital city house prices fell one per cent in the December quarter according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Average home prices are now 4.8 per cent lower than a year ago.
The manufacturing sector grew in January. The Australian Industry Group - PricewaterhouseCoopers Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index rose 1.4 points to 51.6. Ratings above 50 indicate an expansion in activity.
Chinese economic news
China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 50.5 in January from 50.3 the month before, still above the 50 level which separates expansion from contraction.
Company newsAustralia’s richest person, mining billionaire Gina Rinehart is reportedly close to securing 15 per cent of Fairfax Media Limited
(ASX:FXJ). According to media reports broker Morgan Stanley approached Fairfax investors offering to buy 235 million shares, or 9.9 per cent of stock at 81.8 cents a share. Fairfax Media speculates the share raid may be part of a deal for Rinehart to swap her Fairfax shares for three newspapers; The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review. Fairfax shares closed 10.14 per cent higher at $0.815.
Proceedings have been issued against Westpac Banking Corporation
(ASX:WBC) on behalf of 10,500 customers of St George Bank and BankSA relating to exception fees charged to customers’ bank accounts and credit cards. Australia’s largest class action has already taken aim at the big four banks and Citibank, with 160,000 customers participating. In December the Federal Court in Melbourne ruled that some bank fees charged by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group
(ASX:ANZ) could be considered illegal. Westpac shares closed 1.42 per cent lower to $20.85.
Santos Limited
(ASX:STO) announces gas production has started from the Wortel project in Indonesia.
Energy Resources of Australia Limited
(ASX:ERA) shares slump after reporting a net after tax loss of $154 million, with operations significantly impacted by extreme weather in the Northern Territory.
Boral Limited
(ASX:BLD) agrees to sell its Indonesian construction materials business for $US 135 million.
And BHP Billiton Limited’s
(ASX:BHP) nickel division will cut up to 155 workers mainly in Perth and lower mining production at Mt Keith in Western Australia.
Best and worst performers
Consumer discretionary was up 6 points to 1,229. The worst performing sector was materials, down 154 points, closing at 11,419.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX200 was Fairfax Media as mentioned earlier. Shares in Medusa Mining and Mermaid Marine Australia also closed higher.
The worst performing stock was Energy Resources of Australia; it dropped 13.64 per cent to $1.33, followed by Aqua Platinum and Energy World Corporation.
IPOsCohiba Minerals Ltd
(ASX:CHK) listed on the market today at 20 cents, opened at 22 cents and closed at 22 cents.
CommoditiesThe price of gold is $US1,739 an ounce and Light crude is up 15 cents at $US98.63 a barrel.
