There was nowhere to hide today as the ASX200 index posted its worst one-day performance since mid-September, shedding 96.0 points or 1.36% to 6,981.60 after a sell-off on Wall Street with similar percentage drops.
All 11 sectors finished in the red as October is proving not to be the rebound month on markets after a terrible September. Tech (-1.84%), Staples (-1.63%), Real Estate (-1.51%) were some of the worst performers dragging markets lower.
Released Employment data showed that Unemployment unexpectedly dropped to 3.6% as the labour market proves resilient. The number of employed people in Australia increased slightly by 6,700 to reach 4.11 million. This figure fell short of market expectations of a 20,000 increase and represents a significant drop from the August gain of 63,200.
ARB Corp (ARB) rose after it provided a Q1 trading update at its AGM today, reporting 0.7% sales growth, while underlying profit after tax increased by 10% from the pcp.
Australian Ethical Investment (AEF) reported FUM of $9.20bn at the end of September, which was in line with June’s figure. Total net inflows rose by $114 million during the quarter, offset by poorer investment performance (-$124m).
Avita Medical (AVH) reported a 50% increase in preliminary commercial review to $13.5 million at a Gross Margin of 84.5%. The company also confirmed it had secured $90 million in debt funding.
Santos (STO) reported Q3 production of 23.3mmboe, slightly higher than the previous quarter, driving US$1.4 billion in revenue. Free Cash Flows from operations was around US$470 million.
Get the rest of the recap here, including coverage of CTD, NWL, NST and QAN
