Australian shares fall on rising coronavirus cases, NZ slips
Reuters
Published Jun 18, 2020 11:28
By Soumyajit Saha
June 18 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Thursday, weighed by heavyweight mining and energy sectors, as a spike in coronavirus cases across the United States and China put a damper on sentiment.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 0.41% to 5,967.5 points. The index is down 10.36% so far this year.
New coronavirus infections hit record highs in six U.S. states on Tuesday, while China's capital cancelled scores of flights, shut schools and blocked off some neighbourhoods to contain a coronavirus outbreak. raised concerns of a slow pace of global economic recovery and halted a near 5% rise in the past two sessions that was spurred by the launch of the U.S. Federal Reserve's corporate bond buying programme and hopes of a potential COVID-19 treatment.
Australia's trade minister on Wednesday warned of a possible ban on international travellers till 2021. subindex for mining stocks .AXMM fell 0.71%, led by declines in Fortescue Metals Group FMG.AX , as prices of Chinese iron ore futures DCIOcv1 on the Dalian Commodity Exchange declined on worries about surplus risks.
Energy stocks .AXEJ fell 0.48%, weighed by a 4% fall in shares of Ampol Ltd ALD.AX , after crude prices fell more than 1% as concerns about lower fuel demand returned with the surge in new virus cases.
Overnight, the benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX lost 0.36%.
The number of issues on the ASX that advanced were 243 while 292 declined as a 0.8-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 slipped 0.37% as data showed gross domestic product fell 1.6% in the March quarter, the largest drop in 29 years, as coronavirus restrictions sapped economic activity. New Zealand Ltd AIR.NZ dropped 5.74% as it forecast an underlying loss of up to NZ$120 mln ($77.30 mln).
($1 = 1.5523 New Zealand dollars)
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Written By: Reuters
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