The Australian share market fell at the open and continued to lose momentum ending Wednesday’s trade with a 0.8 per cent loss. The local market was under pressure as Investors became cautious ahead of tomorrow's widely expected interest rate cut in the United States. Third-quarter consumer price inflation met economist expectations at 0.5 per cent for the quarter and 1.7 per cent on an annual basis. Shares in Costa Group
(ASX:CGC) plunged 26.3 per cent at the start of trade as investors reacted to the company's recent events and Shaver Shop
(ASX:SSG) rose after reporting their comparable sales were up 9.2 per cent. As for the sectors, all are in the red with Industrials performing the best and Telcos coming in last.
Broker movesMacquarie rates Bravura Solutions
(ASX:BVS) as Outperform. Bravura Solutions has acquired FinoComp, which provides software to registry systems, for $25m. The acquisition is expected to deliver around $6.8m in revenue. Macquarie assesses the acquisition enhances the company's wealth management capability. The broker believes the decline in the share price recently is likely to be the result of an absence of short-term news flow. Share in Bravura Solutions closed 1.8 per cent lower at $3.93.
S&P/ASX200 indexAt the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 56 points lower to finish at 6,690.
Futures marketDow futures are suggesting a fall of 20 points.
S&P 500 futures are eyeing a dip of 2 points.
The Nasdaq futures are eyeing a fall of 2 points.
And the ASX200 futures are eyeing a 60 point fall tomorrow morning.
Company newsMyer Holdings
(ASX:MYR) says it is focused in reducing excess space at its stores and lowering occupancy costs as the retail company addressed shareholders at today’s annual general meeting. Myer’s total sales were down 3.5% to $2.99 billion and comparable store sales were down 2.9% from FY2019. It's also focusing on the successful implementation of its spring edit program to ensure a strong Christmas and sale period. Shares in Myer Holdings
(ASX:MYR) last traded at 56 cents.
Suncorp's
(ASX:SUN) Banking & Wealth Chief Executive David Carter has announced he will be leaving the insurance group in early 2020 to take on the role of Group CEO at Royal Automobile Club of Queensland.
Cimic Group
(ASX:CIM) company CPB Contractors has been selected to deliver an upgrade to a northern section of Melbourne’s M80 Ring Road. The design and construct contract will generate revenue to CPB Contractors of approximately $331 million.
Woolworths Group
(ASX:WOW) says it commits to a full remediation after a review found that approximately 5,700 salaried store team members working in Woolworths Supermarkets and Metro stores have not been paid in full compliance with the general retail industry award. The company’s strong sales results from today’s AGM has been overshadowed by the $200 million to $300 million remediation charge.
Shaver Shop
(ASX:SSG) has reported their comparable sales are up 9.2 per cent in the period to October 28 from today's Annual General Meeting.
Best and worst performersThe sector with the fewest losses was Industrials shedding 0.2 per cent while the worst performing sector was Communication Services, shedding 1.5 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Silver Lake Resources, rising 7.5 per cent to $1.15, followed by shares in Pinnacle Investment Management Group
(ASX:PNI) and Galaxy Resources
(ASX:GXY)The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Costa Group Holdings
(ASX:CGC), dropping 24 per cent to close at $2.63. Shares in Speedcast International
(ASX:SDA) and Bega Cheese
(ASX:BGA) followed lower.
Asian marketsJapan’s Nikkei has lost 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 0.3 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has lost 0.5 per cent.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1,491 an ounce.
Iron ore price dropped 1.5 per cent to US$86.64.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 0.6 per cent.
Light crude is 45 cents lower at US$55.29 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 68.63 US cents.
