Weekly Loss of 2.1% in Australian Stocks on New Six Year Low in Crude Oil

Marcus Jacob
14 Aug, 2015
New York City

Energy stocks and wider market indexes extended weekly losses in Australia after crude oil price dropped to a new six-year low. James Hardie struggled with revenues in the latest year and New Zealand-based resin maker Nuplex reported flat quarterly sales.

[R]5:30 PM Sydney, Australia – Energy stocks and wider market indexes extended weekly losses in Australia after crude oil price dropped to a new six-year low. James Hardie struggled with revenues in the latest year and New Zealand-based resin maker Nuplex reported flat quarterly sales.[/R]

Australian market indexes traded lower for the week the reference index extended losses after crude oil traded at a new 6 ½ year low.

Australian dollar closed at 73.78 U.S. cents and in stock trading turnover slid to 742 million shares worth $4.5 billion.

At close, the ASX 200 Index fell 31.40 or 0.6% to 5,356.50 and the broader All Ordinaries Index slumped 29 to 5,360.

For the week, ASX 200 dropped 2.1%.

In commodities trading, gold decreased US$7 to US$1,115 an ounce and Brent crude slipped 0.74 cents to close at US$49.22 a barrel.

IPO

National Veterinary Care Limited surged 21% to $1.21 after the veterinary services provider priced its stock at $1.

The stock opened at $1.26 and closed at $1.21.

Contango Income Generator Limited closed at $1.02 after the investment company priced its stock at $1.

The stock opened at $1.015 and closed at $1.02.

Australian Stock Movers

Automotive Group Holdings Limited ((AHG)) soared 4.1% to $4.31 after the diversified logistics company stated total revenues in the second-quarter ending in June surged 10.8% to $5.25 billion from $4.73 billion a year ago period.

Net income in the quarter jumped 20.8% to $88.1 million compared to $72.9 million and diluted earnings per share increased to 28.7 cents from 26.9 cents in the same period a year ago.

James Hardie Industries Plc closed unchanged at $17.95 after the fiber cement products maker reported group revenues in the year ending in June jumped 3% to US$428.3 million from US$416.8 million in a year ago period.

Net profit in the year soared 107.6% to US$60 million compared to US$28.9 million and diluted earnings per share increased to 13.6 cents from 6 cents in the same period a year ago.

Nuplex Industries Ltd jumped 4.8% to $3.70 after the New Zealand-focused polymer resins maker stated revenues in the second-quarter ending in June was nearly flat at NZ$1.37 billion from NZ$1.36 billion a year ago period.

Net income in the quarter surged 34.5% to NZ$73.6 million compared to NZ$54.7 million and diluted earnings per share increased to 35.6 cents from 26.1 cents in the same period a year ago.