After a sluggish start, the local sharemarket made a gradual recovery in the afternoon, but still ended the day in the red.
Here's a quick recap:
- S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) down 0.1% to 5,195.10 points
- ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) down 0.1% to 5,228.90 points
- AUD/USD at US 72.22 cents
- Iron Ore at US54.97 a tonne, according to The Metal Bulletin
- Gold at $US1,167.81 an ounce
- Brent Crude at $US48.90 a barrel
The market started lower on weaker performances from major global sharemarkets overnight, and a further 1.9% fall in the crude oil price wreaked havoc on local producers' share prices.
Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (ASX: LNG), Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) were again among the worst performers, falling 5.8%, 7.8% and 7.1%, respectively. Adding further pressure on the share prices of exporters is last week's modest uptick in the Australian dollar.
Major miners Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) closed the day down 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively.
Despite an announcement by Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) that it'll raise a further $3.5 billion to meet tougher bank capital requirements, and a subsequent trading halt, peers National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) closed the day modestly higher.
Lynas Corporation Limited (ASX: LYC) and Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd. (ASX: DMP), were among the market's best performers rising 26% and 7%, respectively.
Here are Wednesday's top stories:
- What you need to know about Westpac's capital raising
- Lazy Australians paying $11.6 billion more than we need to
- 10 great ASX dividend stocks to buy during the market crash
- Treasury Wine Estates Ltd makes an acquisition: What you need to know
- Is InvoCare Limited a good buy for defensive investors
- Baby Bunting Limited shares soar 44% on market debut
