A fresh decade-low for the dollar ended today’s session on a weak note, leaving Australian markets in the red.
Despite attempts to climb against the greenback later in the day, the dollar was worth as little as 66.6 US cents this morning; the lowest figures posted since March 2009.
Across the market, today’s session saw reports from JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH), GPT Group (ASX:GPT) and Aurizon (ASX:AZJ) kick off a week full of earnings results expected from big fish like Suncorp (ASX:SUN), CSL (ASX:CSL) and Woodside (ASX:WPL).
The All Ords closed 0.19 per cent lower at 7,108 points, while the ASX 200 also failed to reach the green, losing 10.1 points or 0.14 per cent to end the day at 7012.5.
A total of 113 of those players posted losses, with Boral (ASX:BLD) trading 10.68 per cent lower at market close following the resignation of CEO Mike Kane in the wake of dismal full-year results.
Meanwhile, JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) lead the 74-strong gainer’s pack and defied the retail slump to deliver a record $107.6 million half-year profit. JBH tacked on 11.5 per cent to end the day at $44.71 apiece.
Minimal gains and losses across the 11 sectors failed to make a substantial dent in the market today.
Infotech was the worst-performing category, closing 1.07 per cent lower. Simble Solutions (ASX:SIS) was amongst the biggest losers, tumbling 12.5 per cent today.
Health Care enjoyed a 0.69 per cent resurgence as players responded to a clamour for cures and the coronavirus death toll steepened. Uscom (ASX:UCM) shares spiked 52.38 per cent as the company more than doubled production of its virus management device to meet rising demand in China. Biotron (ASX:BIT), Holista Coltech (ASX:HCT) and Zoono (ASX:ZNO) also traded green on the back of similar sentiments.
The Consumer Staples and Discretionary sectors tailed Health Care gains, increasing by 0.41 and 0.55 per cent respectively. Woolworths (ASX:WOW) shares rose to $43.11 by the session’s end, while Coles (ASX:COL) enjoyed similar increases to end the day at $17.04.
Across the financials, the big four all posted dips. Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) lost 0.57 per cent to trade at $84.32 apiece ahead of the release of its corporate report on Wednesday. Westpac (ASX:WBC) escaped the day’s session relatively unscathed, losing just 0.16 per cent to close on $24.97. NAB (ASX:NAB) and ANZ (ASX:ANZ) lost 0.54 and 0.31 per cent respectively.
In commodities, crude oil fell again today to trade for US$50.33 a barrel. Apart from Senex Energy (ASX:SXY), all Aussie oil players posted losses at market close. Meanwhile, gold results were much more mixed; the future tacked on US$0.90 to trade for A$2349 an ounce, and gains outweighed losses across the company board.
And the coronavirus maintains its grips on global markets, causing all US exchanges, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and the Hang Seng to tumble into the red. The Shanghai Composite, however, has managed to bounce back and tack on a modest 0.33 per cent to reach 2,975 points.