The Australian share market was lower at the close despite a late rally as global concerns were felt across most sectors except the major miners.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 dropped 20.5 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 5,763.3 points, with the banks and energy stocks leading a broad slide.
CMC Markets chief market analyst Ric Spooner said after sharp gains on Tuesday and Wednesday’s flat performance, local stocks were out of step with Asian markets, which were higher in Wednesday afternoon trading.
Following North Korea’s test of a long-range missle on July 4, local sectors all led out cautiously, with financials, energy, utlilites and health care losing ground in the wake of falls on European and Asian markets.
The major banks did eventually recover most of their earlier losses but still ended the day between 0.4 to 0.8 per cent down.
Bright spots on the ASX were miners and telcos.
“Mining stocks have also been reinforced by some robust PMI data out of China, but particularly out of the US and from Europe, and this has beneficial flows through to resources,” Mr Spooner said.
BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals were all up around one and a half per cent, as iron ore prices continued their recovery.
Vocus Group helped telco gains, closing more than two per cent higher after the telecom invited US private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to scrutinise its books in anticipation of a possible $A3.3 billion takeover proposal.
Elsewhere in company news, shares in Flight Centre jumped by 10.4 per cent, ending the day at a 16-month high of $44.10 after the travel agency group improved its full-year profit guidance on the back of a boost in second-half US sales.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was trading at 76.27 US cents at 1700 AEST, recovering slightly from Tuesday’s sharp decline after a dovish Reserve Bank indicated it is not considering raising the cash rate in the near future.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 20.5 points, or 0.35 per cent, at 5,763.3 points
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 18 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 5,801.0 points
* The June SPI200 futures contract was down 27 points, or 0.47 per cent, at 5,705 points.
* National turnover was 1.8 billion securities traded worth $4.98 billion.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1700 AEST:
CURRENCY ASK BID PREVIOUS
AUD/USD 0.7628 0.7626 0.76
AUD/JPY 86.39 86.34 86.08
AUD/EUR 0.6715 0.6712 0.6697
AUD/NZD 1.0465 1.0455 1.0422
AUD/GBP 0.5903 0.59 0.5881
GOLD:
The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1700 AEST was $US1,225.66 per fine ounce, up from $US1,225.42 per fine ounce on Tuesday.
BOND SNAPSHOT AT 1630 AEST:
* CGS 4.50 per cent April 2020, 1.8584pct, from 1.8479pct on Tuesday
* CGS 4.75pct April 2027, 2.572pct, from 2.5648pct
Sydney Futures Exchange prices:
* September 2017 10-year bond futures contract at 97.37 (implying a yield of 2.63pct), from 97.38 (2.62pct) on Tuesday
* September 2017 3-year bond futures contract at 98.05 (1.95pct), from 98.07 (1.93pct).
(*Bond market closes taken at 1630 AEST previous local session)
