Appen drops 14%, Travel stocks weigh: ASX down 0.7% at noon

Market Reports

by Lauren Evans

The Australian sharemarket has fallen in the morning session with all sectors in the red. At noon, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.7 per cent or 47.8 points lower at 7359.5. The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 50 points.

With all sectors in the red, energy has lost the most points, down 1.7 per cent. This is followed by technology, materials and industrials, all down 0.8 per cent. The sector with the fewest losses is communication services, down 0.1 per cent. 

The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is machine intelligence company Appen (ASX:APX), trading 14 per cent lower after Macquarie expressed concerns about a potential guidance downgrade in the coming weeks. Retail giant Kogan (ASX:KGN) is also down 4.7 per cent. 

Travel stocks are weighing on the market amid Covid-19 concerns across Europe. Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) is down 6 per cent, Qantas (ASX:QAN) is down 4.3 per cent and Webjet (ASX:WEB) is down 4.6 per cent.

Major banks are lower, led by Westpac (ASX:WBC) down 1.7 per cent. ANZ (ASX:ANZ), is however, up 0.4 per cent following the acknowledgement of ASIC proceedings. 

The iron ore miners are dragging on the broader market as iron ore prices trade lower. Fortescue (ASX:FMG) is down 2.8 per cent, Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) is down 1.8 per cent, Mineral resources (ASX:MIN) is down 3 per cent and Champion Iron (ASX:CIA) is down 2.8 per cent. 

Across the energy sector, Yancoal (ASX:YAL) is down 6.3 per cent, Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) is down 3.5 per cent, Woodside Petorleum (ASX:WPL) is down 1.3 per cent and Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) is down 3.2 per cent. 

Local economic news 

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released the retail trade figures for October. Retail trade rose 4.9 per cent month-on-month and 5.2 per cent compared with October 2020.

Company news

Financial services provider AMP (ASX:AMP) expects to recognise additional impairment charges of around $325 million after tax in its 2021 financial year results.

Banking giant ANZ (ASX:ANZ) has acknowledged that Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has commenced proceedings relating to three unlicensed third parties providing home loan application documents to ANZ lenders.

Best and worst performers

All sectors are in the red. The sector with the fewest losses is Communication Services, down 0.1 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Energy, down 1.7 per cent.

The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Domino Pizza Enterprises (ASX:DMP), trading 2.2 per cent higher at $128.50. It is followed by shares in James Hardie Industries (ASX:JHX) and Bega Cheese (ASX:BGA).

The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Appen (ASX:APX), trading 14 per cent lower at $10.01. It is followed by shares in Flight Centre Travel Group (ASX:FLT) and Kogan.com (ASX:KGN).

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1792.00 an ounce.
Iron ore is 3.2 per cent lower at US$100.10 a ton.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 5.7 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 71.71 US cents.

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