Australian Indexes Erase Yearly Gains, ANZ Faces Unfair Fees Suit

Marcus Jacob
25 Jun, 2013
New York City

Australian market indexes closed at its low for the year and erased most of the yearly gain as investors shy away from stocks in resource and retail sectors. A consumer advocate group in New Zealand filed a legal challenge for unfair fees charged by ANZ.

[R]5:30 PM Sydney – Australian market indexes closed at its low for the year and erased most of the yearly gain as investors shy away from stocks in resource and retail sectors. A consumer advocate group in New Zealand filed a legal challenge for unfair fees charged by ANZ.[/R]

Australian indexes recovered from the market lows in the afternoon and for the year the ASX index dipped in the negative territory for the first time.

The ASX 200 index slid 13.10 to close at 4,656 and the broader All Ordinaries fell 17.60 to 4,633.50.

Australian dollar closed at 92.50 U.S. cents and in stock trading turnover climbed to 1.1 billion shares worth $5.5 billion.

Stocks in Review

Rio Tinto decreased $1.30 to $50.24 and BHP slipped 54 cents to $30.81. Woodside Petroleum Limited dropped 52 cents to $33.74.

David Jones Limited closed unchanged at $2.48 and Breville Group slid 14 cents to $7.05. Woolworths gained 10 cents to $31.85.

Mirvac Group fell 1 cent to $1.50. Lend Lease declined to $8.17.

Westpac increased 15 cents to $27.70, Commonwealth rose 0.6% to $66.12 and National Australia Bank gained 0.07% to $28.70.

ANZ closed unchanged at $27.38 and the bank faces regulatory challenge for its unfair practices in collecting overdraft fees.

Fair Play group of New Zealand is seeking to sue to reclaim the penalty fees charged by the bank. ANZ customers charged unfair fees of $250 million in the last six years. The claim filed seeks damages on behalf of 13,500 people and 1,800 small businesses in New Zealand.

Billabong International Limited surged 46.1% to 19 cents after the Australia based surfwear retailer said its long drawn out refinancing and asset sale talks with Altamont Capital Partners and Sycamore Partners are at advanced stage.

Collins Foods Limited reported 43% jump in its full-year net income despite a challenging retail environment.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited gained 1.4% to $2.96 after the iron ore producer awarded contract valued $1.3 billion to Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd for mine work at the Solomon mine in Western Australia.

Leighton Holdings Limited increased 1.7% to $15.21 after the construction company secured contract worth $1.15 billion to build Sydney''s North West rail link with Spain based Dragados S.A.

Leighton owns 75% of the total undertaking through its subsidiaries Thiess and John Holland.

Noni B Limited declined 5% to 57 cents after the Australia based women’s apparel retailer estimated full year loss of as much as $4 million after $5 million goodwill write-down in the current financial year.