The Australian share market slid even further into the red today and closed down just shy of 1 per cent. It was the local market’s fourth day of losses and it was led by the miners who are grappling with the tumbling iron ore price.
Consumer staples were the other big mover today with both Woolworths and Wesfarmers adding to the shades of red on the board.
The dollar also weakened on the back of sliding demand for Australia’s largest export commodity, it dropped below the $US0.86 mark.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 53 points down to finish at 5,316.
The value of trades was $4.76 billion on volume of 776 million shares at the close of trade. The top three stocks by value were BHP Billiton Limited
(ASX:BHP), Woolworths Limited
(ASX:WOW) and National Australia Bank Limited
(ASX:NAB).
On the futures marketthe SPI is 57 points down.
Company news
Shares in Woolworths Limited
(ASX:WOW) are down almost 3 per cent as the company announces changes to the Caltex-Woolworths alliance which will see sales from Caltex-operated sites excluded from the company’s financial results.
Over the last financial year the Caltex-Woolworths fuel network totalled 633 sites including 131 Caltex operated sites and the remainder operated by Woolies. Woolworths closed 2.98 per cent down at $31.30.
Wesfarmers Limited
(ASX:WES) also saw its shares lose value today while alsoscoring the green light from Australia’s competition regulator to buy Workwear Group.
The conglomerate inked a deal with Pacific Brands Limited (ASX:PBG) in August to buy the asset for $180 million. Shares in Wesfarmers closed 1.84 per cent down at $42.10.
Mirvac Group
(ASX:MGR) has signed up PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for office space at its proposed 2 Riverside Quay development in Melbourne.
Energy provider AGL Energy Limited
(ASX:AGK) is changing its ASX ticker code from AGK to AGL on Monday 24th of November.
BHP Billiton Limited’s
(ASX:BHP) Chairman Jac Nasser has discussed slowing growth in China and the company’s demerger plans as part of its AGM today.
E-health companyPro Medicus Limited
(ASX:PME) has signed an $8 million deal with WellSpan Health in the US which will see it utilise its diagnoses and imaging services.
Best and worst performers
All major sectors closed lower today. The sector with the least losses was energy losing 0.2 per cent to close at 12,664. The worst performing sector was materials, losing 2.4 per cent to close at 8,789 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Atlas Iron Limited
(ASX:AGO), rising 4.88 per cent to close at $0.22. Shares in Karoon Gas Australia Limited
(ASX:KAR) and Cabcharge Australia Limited
(ASX:CAB) also closed higher.
The worst performing stock was Horizon Oil Limited
(ASX:HZN), dropping 12 per cent to close at $0.21. Shares in FlexiGroup Limited
(ASX:FXL) and Sundance Energy Australia Limited
(ASX:SEA) also closed lower.
Commodities
Gold is trading at $US1,179 an ounce.
Light crude is $0.03 down at $US74.58 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying $US0.8591
