At lunch on Monday the S&P/ASX 200 index has followed the lead of U.S. markets and dropped notably lower. The benchmark index is down 1.6% to 6,907.3 points at the time of writing.
Here's what has been happening on the market on Monday:
Bank shares sink lower.
Concerns over the impact of the coronavirus on global economic growth have weighed heavily on the big four banks. All the big four banks are trading notably lower at lunch. The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price falling particularly hard. It is down over 2% at the time of writing after revealing that it has been hit with another class action.
Coronavirus concerns hit travel shares.
Coronavirus concerns are continuing to weigh on the travel sector on Monday. This follows news that Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) has followed the lead of many of its peers by announcing plans to stop all flights to and from the China mainland. The Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price is down over 4% at lunch.
Gold miners charge higher.
The market selloff has sent the gold miners charging higher on Monday. The likes of Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) are all trading notably higher after investors jumped into safe haven assets. The S&P/ASX All Ords Gold index is up a sizeable 1.3% at lunch.
Best and worst performers.
The Northern Star share price is the best performer on the index with a gain of 3%. Increasing demand for safe haven assets has driven the gold miners higher on Monday. Going the other way is the Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR) share price with a decline of 8%. This morning the engineering company announced the retirement of its chief executive officer, Andrew Wood. Chris Ashton has been appointed as his replacement, effective February 24.
