The bloodbath has continued on the Australian share market today closing 1.6 per cent lower and failing to gain momentum after plummeting at the open. Coronavirus fears have dominated the sell-off as the Dow plunged overnight. Many stocks have fallen to their lowest level in more than 5 years including Mayne Pharma
(ASX:MYX) and G8 Education
(ASX:GEM) as well as shopping centre stocks Scentre Group
(ASX:SCG) and Vicinity Centres
(ASX:VCX) .
Despite the economic downturn, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has today ruled out a fiscal stimulus package as the government announced the economic effect of the outbreak would be worse than that of the bushfires. Mr Morrison said even without the travel ban, the domestic economy would still be hit hard due to the disruption of travel and global supply chains.
The S&P/ASX200 indexAt the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 112 points down to finish at 6,867.
Futures marketDow futures are suggesting a rise of 201 points.
S&P 500 futures are eyeing a rise of 27 points.
The Nasdaq futures are eyeing a lift of 102 points.
The ASX200 futures are eyeing a 108 point fall for tomorrow morning.
Company news Treasury Wine Estates
(ASX:TWE) says it no longer believes that it will achieve the previous provided growth guidance for the financial year due to the current impact of the Coronavirus. The company says whilst the full operating and financial impacts of the outbreak are yet to be fully determined, Treasury Wines
(ASX:TWE) has sufficient information that would indicate consumption across discretionary categories in China has been significantly impacted through February and is expected to be continue. The company says their Chinese staff have not yet returned to the office and continue to work from home with the same situation being experienced by their wholesalers, retailers and logistics providers. Shares in Treasury Wine Estates
(ASX:TWE) closed 4 per cent lower at $11.17.
Looking at some more headlines:
Jumbo Interactive
(ASX:JIN) has entered into a new SaaS (Software as a Service) 5 year licence agreement with Australian charity lottery operator MS (Multiple Sclerosis)
Vitamins giant Blackmores
(ASX:BKL) will enter the Indian market and launch a series of new supplements for pets.
Caltex Australia
(ASX:CTX) has appointed their Chief Financial Officer, Matthew Halliday as interim CEO
SEEK
(ASX:SEK) slashes its interim dividend by almost half after reporting a 24 per cent decline in recent results.
Best and worst performers of the day The sector with the fewest losses was Info Tech shedding 0.3 per cent while the worst performing sector was Communication Services shedding 2.5 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Appen
(ASX:APX) rising 6.5 per cent to $25.40, followed by shares in PolyNovo
(ASX:PNV) and New Hope Corporation
(ASX:NHC).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was St Barbara
(ASX:SBM), dropping 9.7 per cent to close at $2.71. Shares in Saracen Mineral Holdings
(ASX:SAR) and Cocoa-Cola Amatil
(ASX:BEN) followed lower.
Asian marketsAll are lower: Japan’s Nikkei has lost 3.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 0.1 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has lost 2 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at US$1,653 an ounce.
Iron ore price has lost 0.4 per cent at US$91.88.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 1.6 per cent.
Light crude is US$0.09 down at US$51.34 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 66.13 US cents.
