Australia Market falls 0.6%

Headline indices of the Australian share market closed lower on Monday, 19 November 2018, weighed by following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, uncertainty over headway in Sino-US trade relations and the US Federal Reserve's comments on slowing global growth. At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index dropped 36.89 points, or 0.64%, at 5,693.66 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index declined 36.44 points, or 0.63%, to 5,786.39 points.

Risk sentiments largely subdued amid worries about U.S.-China trade tensions resurfaced following the weekend's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation or APEC summit where leaders failed to agree on a post-summit communiqufor the first time in history.

Shares of energy companies declined as concerns over a demand slowdown weighing on sentiment. Sector heavyweight Woodside Petroleum dipped 1.4%, while Santos fell 1.1%.

Shares of banks and financials were lower, with ANZ Banking, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac were down in a range of 0.4% to 0.8%. Medibank Private dropped 6.14% after surfacing from a trading halt on Monday sparked by the loss of a large Australian Defence Force contract. Shares in Medibank, which was government-owned until its 2014 privatisation, were halted on Monday after the ADF told the insurer it would not extend its current arrangement with Medibank's Garrison Health Services past June next year.

CURRENCY: Australian Dollar was up against greenback and other major currencies on Monday. The Australian dollar was quoted at 73.06 US cents, from 72.68 US cents cents on Friday; 82.40 Japanese yen, from 82.39; 64.1 euro cents, from 64.09; 56.98 British pence, from 56.81; and 106.75 NZ cents, from 106.40.

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