Australia Market falls on profit booking

Headline indices of the Australia stock market declined on Tuesday, 10 July 2018, after wiping out initial gain inspired by firm overseas cues, as investors elected to book gain after the benchmark index hit the best levels in 10.5 years. Local shares received a strong lead from Wall Street overnight with all major US indexes advancing in reaction to last Friday's solid US jobs report and the upcoming US quarterly earnings period. Most of ASX200 issues declined, with shares of, financial, realty, and utilities issues being notable losers. However, gains in energy and materials kept the benchmark losses in check. Around late afternoon, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 14.64 points, or 0.23% to 6,271.40. The broader All Ordinaries Index was down 12.20 points or 0.19% to 6,354.20.

Financials stocks were key drag on the benchmark, with top four lenders being notable losers. Among lenders, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Bank, and National Australia Bank leading the retreat, falling as much as 2%.

 

Shares of materials and energy players were key contributor to the benchmark gains, on higher commodity prices overnight. Among materials, BHP Billiton (BHP), Rio Tinto (RIO) and Fortescue Metals (FMG) were up in between 0.5% to 2%. Among energy players, Woodside (WPL) and Origin (ORG) the standouts, were improving in between 0.5% to 1%.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar gained ground against greenback on Tuesday. The Australian dollar was worth 74.73 US cents, edging up from 74.60 on Monday.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News