ASX Market Close: Bad taste for staples stocks sees index slide | September 23, 2024

The ASX200 closed about 0.7% down, and it was ACCC action against Woolworths (ASX:WOW) and Coles (ASX:COL) over marketing campaigns that saw Consumer Staples stocks hit on market today.

Consumer Staples shed 2.8%.

Coles  lost about 3.5% as its being pursued over its Down Down promotion and Woolworths lost 3.4% over action around its Prices Dropped campaign. Both were post-COVID.

The ACCC alleges the supermarkets’ promotions were false or misleading claiming they increased the prices of hundreds of items before advertising them as discounted at prices the same as, or higher, than before.

In the Green

Shipbuilder Austal (ASX:ASB) gained 4.7% today after its American division has been awarded a $220 million contract by the US navy to invest in infrastructure to support the annual building one Columbia-class and two Virginia-class submarines.

The news comes only a week after Austal was awarded a $670 million contract by General Dynamics Electric Boat.

Austal closed at $3.04.

Meanwhile, waste company Cleanaway (ASX:CWY) spiked after its FY24 annual report showed EBITDA of $728.7 million, more than 9% higher than in FY23.

Cleanaway’s profit after tax was nearly 15% higher and it’s paying a 5c dividend.

Cleanaway closed at $2.93.

And trade in the Original Juice Company (ASX:OJC) shares jumped nearly 6 per cent before trade was voluntarily suspended as the company scrambled to bring the market up to speed with a proposed merger with SPC Global, reported in the media.

The Original Juice Company last traded at 18 cents.

In the Red

Webjet Ltd (ASX:WEB) fell more than 10% upon the spinoff of its B2C arm today, under the name Webjet Group (ASX:WJL) and ticker code WJL.

The new Webjet Group opened at 99c, but quickly plunged down to around 80 cents, while the original Webjet – which will soon be renamed to Webjet Travel Group and hold the B2B assets – fell by about that same value to $7.35.

Meanwhile, the market punished Select Harvests (ASX:SHV) today, smashing the share price by close to 20 per cent after it raised $61.7 million and is launching a retail entitlement to pick up another $18.3 million.

The funds raised with $3.80 shares will be used to pay down debt and increase processing capacity.

Select Harvests was trading below that, at $3.65, at close.

This came on a day when Beston Global Food Company (ASX:BFC) announced it had gone into voluntary administration under KPMG, despite an offer for its SA cheese business earlier in the month.

Trade in Beston shares last closed in June at point-3 of a cent after the company lodged an $18.8 million loss for the first half of FY24.