Australian investors enter the weekend with the ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO) falling over 2% on the final day of the week.
How much did the ASX 200 fall over this week? Well it finished down 2.8% today to 6,216, which was a fall of 3.5% during the week. It's down 13% over the past two weeks.
Here are some of the highlights today:
Gold miners glitter
Last week gold miners didn't provide the protection that most investors have come to expect. However today, finally, gold miners went up as the share market declined.
The leading ASX 200 performer was Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR), its share price climbed 6.2%. Another leader was the Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) share price which rose over 5%. Another top performer in the ASX 200 was Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) – its share price went up 4%.
Painful share price falls again
Share price falls featured in several sectors. The oOh!Media Ltd (ASX: OML) share price is down 11%, the Avita Medical Ltd (ASX: AVH) share price went 11.5% into the red and the Virgin Money UK Plc (ASX: VUK) share price declined 10.6%.
Major ASX banks also suffered a painful sell-off. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price fell 3.2%, the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price fell 3.8%, the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) share price dropped 4.6% and the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price declined 5%.
Travel shares punished again
The market is punishing travel businesses heavily with concerns about the continuing decline in travellers. The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price fell 6.6%, the Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price dropped 4.6%, the Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) share price fell 1.6%, the Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) share price fell 4.7% and the Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price plunged 7.9%.
