ASX falls ahead of US election; Domino's plunges
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: The Australian sharemarket has finished lower ahead of the US election, with Domino's recording the biggest fall following its leadership change.
The benchmark ASX 200 dropped 0.4% to end at 8,313.8, with all 11 sectors finishing in red.
Biggest news:
- Domino’s (-6.26%) — Announced that chief executive Don Meij will retire after 22 years in the role and Compass Group’s Mark van Dyck will succeed him.
- RBA interest rate decision — The central bank left rates unchanged at 4.35%, and the financials sector (-0.62%) ended the trading day second worst. Big four banks CBA (-0.35%), NAB (-0.18%), Westpac (-1.48%) and ANZ (-0.51%) all fell.
Other news:
- Lifestyle Communities (7.69%) — Investment manager HMC Capital has become a substantial holder in the company at 2.69%.
- Mineral Resources (4.09%) — Bell Potter analysts said the company continued to be an “attractive investment” despite its investigation into tax evasion allegations involving managing director Chris Ellison.
- IDP Education (0.65%) — Has been added to Morningstar’s ‘Global Equity Best Ideas’ list due to improving market share and its positive pricing outlook.
- Audinate (0.22%) — Shares rebounded after early falls after a ratings downgrade from Macquarie to ‘neutral’ and a target price cut of 30%.
- Harvey Norman (-0.22%) and Latitude Financial (ended flat) — The Federal Court has declared the companies misled consumers over their advertising of interest free payments.
- Lynas Rare Earths (-1.13%) — Macquarie downgraded its rating on the miner, following a downturn in first-quarter sales and production.
The Australian dollar is buying 66 US cents.
What’s Ahead: All eyes will be on the US presidential election on Wednesday with the first polls closing at 10am AEDT.
Goodman Group will post its quarterly operational update while Domino’s, Fortescue and IGO will hold their respective annual general meetings on Wednesday.
