Australia Market extends losses on coronavirus fears

The Australian share market finished session lower on Monday, 10 February 2020, as investors continued to lock in profits following the downturn on Wall Street on Friday while keeping a close watch on the development of the novel coronavirus outbreak. At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index declined 10.05 points, or 0.14%, to 7,012.53, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 13.44 points, or 0.19%, to 7,107.99.

Selling hit the market from the outset, with sentiment soured by a Wall Street downturn Friday after the U.S. Federal Reserve, in its congressional report, cited the fallout from the spreading coronavirus outbreak chiefly in China as a possible economic risk. Toward noon, stocks cut losses thanks to buybacks induced by Chinese shares' resilience. But trading turned lackluster in the afternoon due to a dearth of fresh incentives.

 

Shares in the building materials firm Boral tumbled 10.7% after the company announced its chief executive Mike Cain will step down after the release of the company's full year results.

BHP Billiton weakened 1% on the back of falling commodity prices and uncertainty over the outlook for Chinese demand.

Oil prices fell to a 13 month low after Russia said it will need more time to decide if OPEC and allied producers should cut production in response to the slowing activity associated with the coronavirus. OPEC+, as the group is referred to, is suggesting a production cut of a further ~600k barrels per day, bringing the total supply cuts to approximately 2.7% of global supply. Oilsearch (OSH) shares ended at $6.36, down 4 cents or 0.6%.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6695 after touching an earlier low of $0.6656.

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