Australian Indexes Turn Lower on Weaker Banks, iron Ore Price Rebounds

Marcus Jacob
15 Apr, 2015
New York City

Australian market indexes closed lower after banks led the decliners in Sydney. Resource stocks traded higher following an upswing in iron ore price. Freelancer Ltd soared 9% after the online marketplace operator reported record first-quarter revenue.

[R]5:30 PM Sydney – Australian market indexes closed lower after banks led the decliners in Sydney. Resource stocks traded higher following an upswing in iron ore price. Freelancer Ltd soared 9% after the online marketplace operator reported record first-quarter revenue.[/R]

Weakness in bank stocks overwhelmed the strength in resource stocks and market indexes closed lower.

Iron ore prices rebounded slightly despite China reported March quarter economic growth at 7%, the lowest in six years. Industrial production also increased at less than expected annual rate of 5.6%.

Australian dollar closed at 75.94 U.S. cents and in stock trading turnover jumped to 776 million shares worth $5.5 billion.

At close, the ASX 200 Index slipped 38.20 or 0.6% to 5,908.40 and the broader All Ordinaries Index decreased 38.90 to 5,877.30.

In commodities trading, gold slid US$1 to US$1,194 an ounce and Brent crude increased US$1.04 cents to close at US$59.47 a barrel.

Australian Stock Movers

Freelancer Ltd surged 9.2% to $1.07 after the outsourcing company reported record cash revenues in the first-quarter ending in March with a surge of 42% to $8 million from a year ago period and cash balances of $22.1 million.

Registered users surpassed 15 million.

GDI Property Group Ltd closed unchanged at 0.92 cents after the real estate developer agreed to acquire the office tower at 80 George Street in Parramatta, New South Wales for about $38.7 million.

The transaction is expected to close in June.

PanAust Limited fell 0.3% to $1.74 after the copper and gold miner rejected takeover offer of $1.71 per share or $1.11 billion from the Chinese state-owned resources group and Guangdong Rising Assets Management, one of the largest shareholder in the miner.