ASX falls; Amcor drops after announcing $13b acquisition

The news: The Australian sharemarket ended lower, despite a strong lead from Wall Street.

The benchmark ASX 200 fell 0.57% to end at 8,326.36, with nine out of 11 sectors finishing in red.

Biggest news:

• Amcor (-1.21%) — Shares fell after it announced its $13 billion acquisition of Berry Global overnight but Citi analysts called the buyout “logical”.
• Rio Tinto (0.17%) — Its external review on its workplace culture has revealed "concerning behaviours" including sexual assault and bullying.

Other news:

• Pinnacle Investment Management (halted) — Has acquired stakes in international fund managers VSS Holdings and Pacific Asset Management for a combined $142.8 million.
• Web Travel Group (suspended) and Webjet Group (-9.78%) — Both postponed the release of their first-half results due to “significant complexities” arising from the demerger.
• Kelsian Group (-1.78%) — The company’s subsidiary Swan Transit has renewed its contract with the Western Australian government which is worth $100 million over a 10-year term.
• Paladin Energy (-1.14%) — Flagged that there is no certainty that it will obtain approvals for its acquisition of Fission Uranium after the Canadian government extended the time period of its review on the deal.
• ALS (-1.1%) — Received a rating downgrade from Jarden while Morningstar said its shares were overvalued following its first-half results.
• Boss Energy (-0.33%) — Shares fell after early gains following the uranium miner announcing it had “strong drilling results” from its flagship Honeymoon project.
• Gold miners — Enjoyed an extended rally after gold futures rose as heightened tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war triggered a move towards safe-haven assets. West African Resources (2.4%), Genesis Minerals (2.07%) and Perseus Mining (1.54%) were some of the best performers.