ASX falls as discretionary stocks drag
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The news: The Australian sharemarket has started the week lower, tracking Wall Street losses after weaker-than-expected US jobs data.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX 200 fell 0.32% to end at 7,988.1, with six out of 11 sectors finishing in red.
The worst performing sector was consumer discretionary, down 0.82%, followed by energy (-0.78%). Premier Investments shares fell 4.18% after the retailer flagged a drop in full-year sales and earnings and also said it had axed Smiggle managing director John Cheston over "serious misconduct". Lovisa, which recently poached Cheston to lead the company from mid-2025, also saw its shares tumble 4.66%.
Domino's Pizza Enterprises fell 3.11% after the pizza chain was served with a shareholder class action.
Steadfast Group dropped 6.14% before entering a trading halt following an ABC article that stated the company had been "caught misleading its clients".
Westpac fell 1.06% as it named business and wealth division head Anthony Miller as its incoming CEO and managing director.
Challenger extended losses from last week as it fell 0.8% despite Macquarie analysts upgrading the stock to 'outperform'.
Regis Resources ended 0.56% lower after the gold producer said its joint venture with Anglogold Ashanti has approved the development of the underground Havana mine in WA.
Elsewhere, Global Data Centre Group shares plummeted 7.12% after the investment company revealed that "no decision has been made" regarding its future operations following the sale of AirTrunk.
The best performing sector was AREITs, up 0.87%, followed by IT (0.4%). Hotel Property Investments shares rose 7.47% after it told shareholders to reject an off-market takeover by Charter Hall Retail REIT and Hostplus. Charter Hall Retail REIT fell 0.82%.
ARB Corporation, up 6.7%, was the best performer across the ASX 200 after announcing that it was set to lift its stake in US-based associate ORW USA to free up funding for ORW's acquisition of Colorado-based Hoonigan's 4 Wheel Parts business.
GQG Partners gained 3.23% after announcing it had lifted its funds under management by USD4.5 billion ($6.75 billion) to USD160.8 billion.
Cettire shares rocketed 17.75%, extending the luxury ecommerce platform's recent spate of volatile trading, despite no new announcements.
Meanwhile, Dubber gained 6.9% after announcing the appointment of its new chief executive Matthew Bellizia, following the dismissal of former CEO Steve McGovern in April.
The Australian dollar is buying 66.67 US cents.
The context: Tuesday will see the latest Westpac Consumer Sentiment and NAB Business Confidence figures released.
