Australian stocks follow US to end firmly lower

Stocks followed the US to sink nearly 1pc, amid ongoing concerns about global growth and trade, and as iron ore prices fell.

Australian stocks followed the US lead to finish firmly lower. Picture: AAP

The local sharemarket followed Wall Street’s lead to finish firmly lower as concerns about global growth and trade tensions continued to weigh on investors.

Weaker iron ore prices also dragged big miners lower.

At the close of trade, the ASX benchmark S&P/ASX200 had lost 61.656 points, or 0.94 per cent, to 6483.301 points. The broader All Ordinaries index had fallen 54.764 points, or 0.83 per cent, to 6572.602 points.

The losses came after the major Wall Street indices all lost ground, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.7 per cent while the S&P 500 lost 0.8 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.7 per cent.

“The bullish activity experienced during the first two days of the week was very headline and technical-driven,” said IG market analyst Kyle Rodda.

“The fundamental concerns about global growth and the trade war remain.

“The market is still waiting for true cues to start taking on risk.”

Still, Mr Rodda said that Wednesday’s losses were not an indication that the fundamentals have worsened.

“The drop for the ASX200 today, and for Wall Street overnight, speaks more of a positioning for upcoming risk events, rather than heightened fear in the market,” he said.

The major miners backtracked after as the price of iron ore continued to come under pressure amid fears of a demand slowdown in China and as supply disruptions ease.

BHP turned down 2.9 per cent to $35.25 while Rio Tinto shed 2.5 per cent to $83.70. Fortescue sank 4.1 per cent to $7.27.

In financials, Commonwealth Bank edged 0.2 per cent lower to $77.02 while NAB slipped 0.7 per cent to $27.15. ANZ stepped back 1.2 per cent to $26.37 while Westpac fell 1.8 per cent to $27.52.

Crown stepped up 1.3 per cent to $11.57 after chairman John Alexander defended the company amid allegations associating the casino operator with money laundering and organised crime.

Meanwhile Star Entertainment lost 2 per cent to $3.88 as it traded ex-dividend.

A2 Milk tumbled 13.2 per cent to $13.89 after it unveiled a full-year profit figure below consensus estimates.

Domino’s Pizza was cut by 4.8 per cent to $42.28 after it missed its annual earnings guidance and said it had opened fewer store than initially promised as it delivered its full-year results.

Elsewhere, Brambles flopped 9.4 per cent to $11.79 after it warned of the impact from a possible global economic slowdown.

Logistics software provider WiseTech gained 11.1 per cent to $30.76 after it posted a lift in full-year profit and upped its final dividend payout.

Aerial mapping group Nearmap tumbled 9.6 per cent to $2.84 after the market was left disappointed by the company’s widened loss for the 2019 fiscal year.

Carsales.com put on 10.9 per cent to $15.57 after the online classifieds group flagged a gradual recovery in the Australian automotive market through the year ahead.

Car leasing company McMillan Shakespeare shot up 17.8 per cent to $15.47 after it announced an $80 million share buyback as it delivered a 26.6 per cent lift in annual profit.

Mineral sand miner Iluka Resources backtracked 11 per cent to $7.71 after it forecast weaker-than-anticipated sales and prices for zircon.

Stockland lowered 6.7 per cent to $4.29 after the company provided a downbeat assessment of the residential property market as it delivered a 4 per cent lift in net profit after tax to $311 million.

The Australian dollar was trading slightly lower at US67.82c in late trade.