Australian Indexes Plunge 1.4%

Marcus Jacob
01 Aug, 2014
New York City

Australian market indexes plunged 1.4% following a global market sell-off. Home prices in capital cities in Australia rose in July driven by demands in Sydney and Melbourne and manufacturing activities expanded for the first time since October according to private surveys.

[R]5:00 PM Sydney, Australia – Australian market indexes plunged 1.4% following a global market sell-off. Home prices in capital cities in Australia rose in July driven by demands in Sydney and Melbourne and manufacturing activities expanded for the first time since October according to private surveys.[/R]

Markets in Australia and Asia plunged following market weakness in overnight trading in New York and Europe.

The rising conflict in the Middle East and growing tensions between Russia and European nations contributed to the market jitters after Argentina was declared in debt default by a U.S. rating agency.

Market indexes across Asia and in Australia plunged as much as 1.8%.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported producer price index in the second-quarter climbed 2.3% from a year earlier but decrease from the 2.5% from first-quarter.

Australian dollar closed at 92.83 U.S. cents and stock trading turnover increased to 769 million shares worth $4.84 billion.

ASX 200 index dropped 76.50 or 1.4% to 5,556.40 and the broader All Ordinaries slumped 75.50 to 5,547.60. For the week, ASX 200 slipped 0.5%.

Stocks in Review

Funtastic Limited dropped 2.5% to 0.076 cents after the toys, sporting equipment wholesaler agreed to sell Madman group of companies to Madman Film and Media Pty Ltd. for $21.5 million.

Kathmandu Holdings Ltd climbed 3.3% to $3.12 after the travel and adventure apparel retailer said total sales in the year ending in July jumped 2.3% to $392.9 million and same store sales soared 4.2% from a year ago period.

The company said net profit-after-tax for the year is expected in the range of $39.5 million to $42.5 million from $44.2 million a year earlier.

ResMed Inc plunged 5.1% to $5.23 after the medical equipment maker reported flat revenue in the fourth quarter ending in June at $415.2 million from$414.6 million a year ago period.

Net income in the quarter surged 20% to $87.7 million compared to $73 million and diluted earnings per share soared 22% to 61 cents from 50 cents a year earlier.

Woodside Petroleum Limited slipped 1.4% to $41.92 after the oil and gas company’s shareholders rejected a proposal to buy back $US2.68 billion of its 13.6% shares from Royal Dutch Shell Plc.