Australian Indexes in 6-day Decline on Weak Coal Miners

Marcus Jacob
17 Sep, 2014
New York City

Australian market indexes declined for the sixth day in a row and losses were trimmed after China announced more capital infusion in banking system. Iron ore prices traded near six-year low and coal miners took another hit on the worries of import restrictions in China.

[R]5:00 PM Sydney, Australia – Australian market indexes declined for the sixth day in a row and losses were trimmed after China announced more capital infusion in banking system. Iron ore prices traded near six-year low and coal miners took another hit on the worries of import restrictions in China.[/R]

Australian market indexes slipped for the sixth day in a row and trading volume surged to the high in the year-so-far.

Investors remained cautious after the drumbeat of worries linked to housing market and continued slide in coal and iron ore prices for delivery to China.

However, China announced capital infusion in banks and calmed some of the worries of the liquidity crunch in the financial system.

Australian dollar traded at 90.74 U.S. cents and in stock trading turnover jumped to 947 million shares worth $6.42 billion.

ASX 200 index slipped 38.10 or 0.7% to 5,407.30 and the broader All Ordinaries index fell 34.80 to 5,411.40.

Coal miners declined for the second day in a row after China announced measures to curb import of dirty coal. Australian coal miners have struggled after the announcement because nearly 8% of all coal exports do not meet the latest guidelines in China.

Stocks in Review

Boral Limited fell 0.6% to $5.22 after the building and construction materials maker said revenue in the year ending in June jumped 7.2% to $4.46 billion from $4.16 billion a year ago period.

Net in the year swung to profit $176.2 million compared to a loss of $205.7 million and diluted earnings per share swung to 13.9 cents from a loss of 34.9 cents per share a year earlier.

Premier Investments Limited surged 7.8% to $10.60 after the specialty fashion retailer reported total revenue in the year ending on July 26 climbed 4.9% to $904.2 million from $861.4 million a year ago period.

Net profit in the year plunged 46% to $57.8 million compared to $107.1 million and diluted earnings per share dropped to 46.36 cents from 111.07 cents a year earlier.

Qantas Airways Limited dropped 1.9% to $1.49 after the largest Australian airline said foreign ownership climbed to 44.7% at the end of August from 43.7% in July and approached the limit of 49%.