Despite a promising start to the day, the local share market ended substantially lower with the ASX 200 going close to falling beneath 5,600 points.
Here's a quick recap:
- S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) down 0.8% to 5611 points
- ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) down 0.7% to 5668 points
- AUD/USD at US 75.64 cents
- Iron Ore at US$80.41 a tonne, according to the Metal Bulletin
- Gold at US$1,215.05 an ounce
- Brent oil at US$55.42 a barrel
Brambles Limited (ASX: BXB) provided one of the biggest stories today. Billions of dollars were wiped from the company's value after it provided a negative trading update. Its shares tanked 15.8%.
Entertainment group Village Roadshow Ltd (ASX: VRL) also shed 9.4% after a trading update regarding its theme parks. It said the parks continue to struggle to attract crowds since the tragic incident at Dreamworld, which is owned by Ardent Leisure Group (ASX: AAD) late last year. Ardent Leisure's shares also fell 1.9%.
Other businesses that fell sharply today include Mayne Pharma Group Ltd (ASX: MYX), down 4.2%, South32 Ltd (ASX: S32), down 3.8%, and Sirtex Medical Limited (ASX: SRX), down 3.6%.
Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (ASX: LNG), on the other hand, surged 10.3% after it announced a new deal signed by its 100% owned subsidiary, Magnolia LNG.
The gold miners were strong, as well. EVOLUTION FPO (ASX: EVN) rose 3.2% while St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) gained 1.7%.
Here are Monday's top stories:
