The ASX200 is trading down about half a per cent with Consumer Staples stocks the biggest drag on the index today.
It comes as both Woolworths (ASX:WOW) and Coles (ASX:COL) are being pursued by the ACCC over post-COVID marketing campaigns.
Coles is down more than 3.5% as the ACCC launches Federal Court action over its Down Down campaign which ran for over a year from early 2022.
The ACCC alleges Coles increased prices of at least 245 items before putting them on Down Down promotion at prices the same as, or higher, than before.
In essence, the ACCC claims the representations were false and misleading.
Coles says it sought to strike a balance between managing the impact of cost pressures and offering value to customers.
COL has been trading at $18.53.
And Woolworths is down around 3% as it’s also being pursued as it allegedly used the same tactics with its Prices Dropped program which ran from 2021 to 2023.
The ACCC said the prices of 266 items were lifted, before being promoted as at discount.
WOW has recovered through the morning to be trading just above $34.
In another blow to food staples today, Beston Global Food Company (ASX:BFC) is now in voluntary administration under KPMG.
The administrators intend to operate Beston while seeking options for sale or recapitalisation. Earlier this month Beston confirmed it had an offer from a Japanese company for its cheese business in Jervois in South Australia. Only last month it announced a plan to address looming cost pressures in a volatile dairy price environment. It said there was strain on margins, profit and cashflow.
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. Shareholders have lost 50% of the value over the past year.
On a brighter note, utilities have been up over 1.2% and Energy and Tech stocks are up about 0.7%. One of the high performers is biotech Opthea (ASX:OPT) which has today secured a spot in the ASX300 with its market cap well over $900 million. It’s rewarded shareholders with growth of more than 150% over the past year. It’s up about 4.5% today at around 74 cents.