The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO)(ASX: XJO) and ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) finished lower on Tuesday.
Here's a quick recap of global markets:
- FTSE 100 (UK): up 0.1%
- DAX (Germany): down 0.2%
- CAC 40 (France): down 0.9%
- Dow Jones (USA): flat
- NASDAQ (USA): flat
Here are today's key stats:
- ASX 200: down 0.5%
- All Ordinaries: down 0.4%
- Australian dollar (A$) (AUDUSD): 73.52 cents
- Gold price: flat
- Copper: down 1.2%
- WTI Crude Oil: up 0.6%
Weighing on the market today were shares of Australia's big banks:
- Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) – down 3.9%
- Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) – down 3.1%
- Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) – down 3.7%
- National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) – down 1.3%
The catalyst behind the falls is mounting speculation that the Government's budget (released tonight) will include a levy on banks. Also stoking the bank stock selloff was CBA's third quarter trading update, which was good but not great.
Also amongst today's worst performers were shares of JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) and Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN) following a disappointing national monthly retail sales result.
In addition, Greencross Limited (ASX: GXL) shares fell more than 2% after it announced that one of its popular cat food brands was reported to make pets ill.
On the other side of the ledger, shares of Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL) were amongst the best performers following the release of its half-year financial report.
Also performing strongly were shares of REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) and Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG).
Here are today's top stories:
