Australian shares take a breather
Announcement posted by de2 Communications 22 Jul 2016
“The bulls took a well-earned break today,” said Chris Conway, Head of Research at Australian Stock Report.
He added that the losses were widespread, with nearly all sectors finishing underwater.
Consumer staples were hit the hardest with supermarket giant Woolworths (WOW) shedding 0.9per cent and Metcash (MTS) tumbling 3.8 per cent.
Discretionary stocks were also under pressure, along with telcos property and financials.
According to Conway, three of the big four banks ended lower, with National Australia Bank (NAB) the worst of the lot, down 0.7 per cent. Commonwealth Bank (CBA) bucked the trend to add 0.1 per cent.
He added that today’s moves in the local market could be due to a combination of factors including possible profit-taking.
“The local market has had a good solid run the past several sessions. It is understandable for some to take profits after those runs. At the same time, some investors don’t want to hold on to risk during the weekend and as we approach the reporting season,” Conway said.
At the top of the leader board were gold and nickel plays; Independence Group (IGO) surged 8.7 per cent and Saint Barbara (SBM) added 6 per cent, whilst Asaleo Care (AHY) was the session's big loser, down close to 30 per cent after announcing a nasty downgrade.
The local index retraced into a low around 5430, before recovering slightly into the close. Despite today's weakness, the overarching bias for the index remains bullish - and will continue to do so until 5430 fails as support.
On the day the ASX 200 shed 14 points (-0.3 per cent) to settle at 5498.
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For more information, visit: http://www.australianstockreport.com.au/