Australia shares end lower on recession fears

Adbri

17/10/2022 06:57

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      All sectors finish in negative territory
    

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      Commodity stocks lead losses
    

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      Adbri top loser on weak outlook, CEO resignation
    

  
 (Updates to close)
    By Archishma Iyer
       Oct 17 (Reuters) - Australian shares slumped on Monday,
with commodity companies leading broad declines as searing
inflationary pressures and worries about a potential global
recession weighed on investor confidence.
    The S&P/ASX 200 index  .AXJO  ended 1.4% lower at 6,664.4
points, with all sub-indexes in the red. The benchmark had risen
1.8% on Friday.
    Wall Street dropped on Friday as worsening inflation
expectations kept intact worries that the Federal Reserve's
aggressive rate hike path could trigger a recession.  .N 
    "The fog of battle with inflation is making it hard for
investors," said Henry Jennings, a senior market analyst at
Marcustoday Financial Newsletter.
    Hebe Chen, a market analyst from IG Markets, added, "Growth
and stability are the two vital elements to form and bolster
investing confidence in the market. Unfortunately, both of them
are in shortage for the market today."
    Additionally, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterating the
validity of his zero-COVID policy at the opening of the ruling
Communist Party Congress also hurt investor sentiment.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N31H070
    In Australia, the mining index  .AXMM  lost about 2% due to
weak iron ore prices in top steel-producer, China. Rio Tinto
 RIO.AX , BHP Group  BHP.AX  and Fortescue Metals Group  FMG.AX 
fell between 1.1% and 2.3%.  IRONORE/ 
    Additionally, the gold index  .AXGD  slipped about 2.7%,
despite a slight uptick in bullion prices as the U.S. dollar
eased.  GOL/ 
    Index majors like Newcrest Mining  NCM.AX  and Northern Star
Resources  .NST.AX  dropped 1.8% and 4%, respectively.
    Adbri  ABC.AX  slid about 21.7%, the most on the bourse,
after the construction giant gave a weak outlook for the year
and said its chief executive officer resigned.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N31I0MF
    Star Entertainment  SGR.AX  rose 1.5% as a
regulator-appointed manager was named to run its Sydney casino
after after being found guilty of preventing money laundering
and criminal activity.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N31H0L8.
    New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index  .NZ50  fell 0.7%
to finish the session at 10,785.9 points. 
 (Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio
D'Souza)
 ((Archishma.Iyer@thomsonreuters.com;))
 
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