Coast companies join $63b rout
No hiding as worst day in 18 months sees stock market dip across board
GOLD Coast companies joined a $63 billion sea of red on the Australian Stock Exchange as global trade and civil disputes continued to wear on investor confidence.
The bourse endured its worst day in 18 months, with the benchmark S & P/ASX200 index tumbling 187.8 points, or 2.85 per cent, to 6408.1 points while the broader All Ordinaries shed 186.7 points, or 2.8 per cent, to 6490.8 points.
Dreamworld operator Ardent Leisure took the biggest plunge of the local players, closing 6.8 per cent lower at $1.165 after dipping to $1.16 during the day, following a close of $1.25 on Wednesday.
The Coast’s largest listed company, childcare giant G8 Education, dipped to $2.62 before closing at $2.67, down 2.2 per cent from Wednesday’s close of $2.73.
Retail Food Group finished 2.8 per cent lower at 17.5c after closing Wednesday at 18c.
Pet care company National Veterinary Care dropped as low as $2.35 before recovering to close at $2.36, down 1.26 per cent from its Wednesday closing price of $2.39.
Developer Sunland, which ended the previous day’s trade at $1.62, sank three cents during the day, but recovered to break even at close, while Broadbeach-based VillaWorld lost one cent, or 0.43 per cent, from its previous close of $2.33.
Raptis Group, which hasn’t traded a single share since June 21, stayed characteristically flat, opening and closing at 4.9c.
Providing a glimmer of green in the rout was Ormeau motor racing research and development juggernaut PWR Holdings, which gained a relatively respectable 0.49 per cent from a $4.11 Wednesday close to finish trade at $4.13.
Likewise, Early Warning Network operator Aeeris edged upwards, gaining 3.45 per cent, closing at 15c, up from 14.5c the previous day.
Gold Coast newbie Ama Group, the automotive aftercare and accessories company which moved into Bundall earlier this month, didn’t escape the wider conditions, dipping to $1.35 before closing at $1.39, 3.47 per cent lower than its previous day’s end of $1.44.
Sea World operator Village Roadshow dipped to $2.43 through the day but recovered to close 2.78 per cent down at $2.45.
Casino operator and developer Star Entertainment Group lost 2.19 per cent to close at $3.58 the day before it’s scheduled to release its fullyear results.
Battling dental group Smiles Inclusive closed 4.35 per cent lower at 11c.
Despite three weeks of losses, the ASX200 is still up 761 points, or 13.5 per cent, since January 1.
The global rout came after investors poured money into long-term US bonds, dropping yields on 10-year bonds temporarily below the yield on two-year Treasuries for the first time since 2007.
A similar yield curve inversion has occurred before each of the past seven recessions and investors pulled billions from global markets on fears it was signalling another.
In Australia, energy and tech shares had the largest losses, sliding 5.3 per cent and 4.9 per cent, respectively.
Most sectors were down at least 2.0 per cent, with property groups the least hit with 1.7 per cent losses.
Santos, Oil Search, Origin Energy and Beach Energy fell between 3.5 and 6.7 per cent after crude prices dropped below $US60 a barrel while Woodside Petroleum fell 6.7 per cent after the oil and gas producer cut its interim dividend. Wisetech Global, Afterpay, Appen, Altium and Xero fell between 3.5 per cent and 7.3 per cent.
Mining giant BHP was down 2.8 per cent to $36.39, Rio Tinto was down 2.6 per cent to $85.60 and Fortescue Metals was down 0.8 per cent to $7.50. Goldminers were among the very few winners as the price of the precious metal climbed back up to $US1,510.
Northern Star, St Barbara and Evolution were up between 1.6 and 1.8 per cent. Cryptocurrencies proved no safe haven, with Bitcoin down 8.7 per cent to $A14,230 or $US9579 on Sydney exchange the Independent Reserve.
The big four banks were lower, with ANZ down 3.0 per
MOST SECTORS WERE DOWN AT LEAST 2.0 PER CENT, WITH PROPERTY GROUPS THE LEAST HIT WITH 1.7 PER CENT LOSSES.
cent to $26.23, Commonwealth down 3.0 per cent to $74.34, NAB down 3.1 per cent to $26.80 and Westpac down 3.2 per cent to $27.61.
Telstra was down 1.8 per cent to $3.87 after the telco reported a 40 per cent fall in fullyear profit to $2.15 billion.
Super Retail Group was the ASX200 component up the most, by 4.2 per cent to $9.04, after recording an 8.6 per cent rise in full-year profit.
Health supplements company Blackmores tumbled 14.9 per cent to a four-year low of $70.90 after the vitamin
slashed its final dividend.
Orora plunged 15.9 per cent to a three-year low of $2.69 after the packaging company reported its profit had climbed 4.0 per cent to $217 million amid a “challenging market”.
The local currency lifted against the US dollar after the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced the country’s unmaker employment rate held steady at 5.2 per cent in July.
The Aussie dollar is buying 67.83 US cents, from 67.82 US cents on Wednesday.