China kept its tariff dispute with the United States infocus as its commerce ministry insisted negotiations must be based on "equality," with Washington's proposed tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, which will come into effect next month after a public comment period ends on Wednesday, Sept. 5.
Shares of telecom sector declined, with TPG Telecom and Hutchison fell back 4.8% and 5.6% respectively, after strong gains the previous day on news of their A$15 billion merger of equals in an effort to become a stronger challenger to bigger rivals Telstra and Optus. Telstra fell 4%.
Shares of materials and resources declined after base metal prices fell as the Sino-U.S. trade tensions upstaged optimism that the United States and Canada could clinch a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were down more than 1% each. Gold miners were weak after gold prices extended losses to a third straight session overnight, with Newcrest Mining was declining more than 1% and Evolution Mining was losing almost 2%.
Consumer-related stocks were also a drag on the market, with Harvey Norman shares falling about 5% after the furniture and electrical goods retailer posted a 16.4% drop in full-year profit due to property revaluations and a disastrous dairy farming investment. Harvey Norman also announced an A$163 million entitlement offer at a significant discount to Thursday's closing price as it aims to pay down debt.
Financial stocks inclined, with Westpac, Commonwealth, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking were higher in a range of 0.1% to 0.5%.
Energy stocks inclined after crude oil prices rose to a seven-week high overnight. WTI crude oil futures for October delivery added $0.74 or 1.1% to close at $70.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In the energy space, Santos, Oil Search, and Woodside Petroleum were higher in a range of 0.2% to 1%.
Among individual stocks, Shares in Transurban were in a trading halt after the toll road operator said it has won a bid for Sydney's WestConnex motorway and a consortium led by the company has agreed to pay the NSW government A$9.3 billion for a 51% stake in the new WestConnex motorway. The toll road giant said it will fund its 50% of the deal through a $4.2 billion entitlement offer and A$600 million placement to consortium partners AustralianSuper and Abu Dhabi-controlled Tawreed Investments.
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CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar was lower against the U.S. dollar on Thursday. The Australian dollar was buying 72.59 US cents, down 0.6% from 72.88 US cents on Thursday.
OFFSHORE MARKET NEWS, US stock market closed down on Thursday on concerns about the U.S.-China trade war, upstaged optimism that the United States and Canada could clinch a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 137.65 points or 0.5% to 25,986.92, the Nasdaq fell 21.32 points or 0.3% to 8,088.36 and the S&P 500 dropped 12.91 points or 0.4% to 2,901.13.
The major European stock markets ended lower on Thursday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.6%. The German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index dropped by 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.
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