Australia Market extends losses for fourth day

The Australian share market slid into the red for fourth straight session on Thursday, 23 April 2020, as risk sentiments deteriorated after data from the Westpac showed Australia's leading index signalled deepening contraction in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, market losses capped on the substantial rebound in crude oil prices and Optimism about more stimulus measures from global central banks to deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Around late afternoon, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 18.85 points, or 0.36%, to 5,202.40. The broader All Ordinaries fell 15.50 points, or 0.29%, to 5,258.30.

Ramsay Healthcare shares declined 5.8% to A$60.57 following its successful institutional capital raising. Elsewhere, Macquarie cut its price target on Ramsay to A$67 from A$71 while retaining an outperform rating. UBS also made a minor downgrade, cutting its price target by 30 cents to A$63.20 with a neutral stance.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia Westpac Leading Index Indicates Deepening Contraction In March- Australia's leading index signalled deepening contraction in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, data from the Westpac showed Wednesday. The six month annualized growth rate in the Westpac- Melbourne Institute Leading Index fell to -2.47% in March from -0.97% in February. The score indicates the likely pace of economic activity relative to trend three to nine months into the future. The growth rate in the indicator was the most negative since the global financial crisis. The leading index growth rate has deteriorated 1.7 percentage points over the last six months.

CURRENCY NEWS: The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 100.38 after seeing lows around 100 yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6299 following a decline from levels around $0.635 yesterday.

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