Australia's S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO)(ASX: XJO) and ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) indices finished lower on Tuesday.
Here's a quick recap of the Aussie market:
- S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) down 0.8%
- ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) down 0.7%
- AUD/USD at US 76.12 cents
- Gold at US$1,245 an ounce, down 0.9%
- Oil at US$44.33 a barrel, down 1.4%
Amongst the companies diving into the red, each of the major banks fell on news that credit ratings agency, Moody's, downgraded them over housing market fears.
- Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) – down 0.7%
- Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) – down 1.3%
- Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) – down 1.8%
- National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) – down 1.1%
Also seeing red were shares of Westfield Corp Ltd (ASX: WFD), the global arm of Westfield Shopping Centres. Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) and Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) shares also closed sharply lower following the overnight selloff in commodity prices.
Performing strongly today was shares of Reece Ltd (ASX: REH), the plumbing business; Independence Group NL (ASX: IGO), a mining company; and accounting software company, XERO FPO NZX (ASX: XRO). None of the companies released material news to the market.
Here are today's top stories:
