Shares of banks were under pressure as ASIC said it is taking civil legal action against the bank in the Federal Court. National Australia Bank fell almost 1%, while ANZ Banking and Westpac Banking were down 0.3% each. Commonwealth Bank edged up 0.1%.
QBE Insurance (QBE) was down 1.3% after warning that its North American Crop insurance business has been negatively impacted by bad weather (unusually cold growing season).
Shares in Corporate Travel were up 4.5% to $21.48 and were as high as $21.64, taking the stock back to where it was in late August, when management issued cautious full-year 2019-20 guidance of EBITDA of between $165 million and $175 million.
ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia Westpac Leading Index Signals Weak Growth Momentum - Australia's leading index, which indicates the likely pace of economic activity relative to trend three to nine months into the future, fell to -0.81% in November from -0.78% in October, the Westpac reported Wednesday. The index continued to signal weak economic momentum carrying well into 2020. Westpac expect economic growth in 2020 to be stuck at 2.1% which compares with trend growth of 2.75%. The leading index growth rate deteriorated over the last six months to -0.81% in November from -0.17% in June.
CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar, sensitive to shifts in broader risk appetite, inclined against greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6844, strengthening slightly from a previous low of 0.6835.
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