Australia Market falls on pandemic-driven recession fears

The Australian share market finished deep in the red for a second consecutive session on Friday, 03 April 2020, as coronavirus pandemic driven global recession fears continues to weigh on investors. Most sectors finished lower, led by industrials and consumer discretionary while energy and materials managed to buck the trend, in part due to a record surge in crude oil prices on Thursday. At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index declined 86.82 points, or 1.68%, to 5,067.48. The broader All Ordinaries dropped 81.71 points, or 1.57%, to 5,106.94. For the week, the benchmark &P/ASX200 index settled 4.4% higher.

The big four banks fell sharply for a second day, undermined by continued uncertainty over the outlook for dividend payments. Westpac recorded the largest decline, sliding 2.9% to A$15.51. Macquarie also shed 4.3% to A$84.30.

Elsewhere, Transurban and Scentre Group were hammered, tumbling 6.3% and 5.6% respectively to A$11.10 and A$1.61.

Providing some offset, Fortescue Metals jumped 5.7% to A$10.56, helped by a modest lift in iron ore prices along with a bullish broker note from Credit Suisse talking up the company's juicy dividend yield. Supported by the same factors, BHP and Rio Tinto also managed to buck the broader trend, gaining 1.6% and 1.8% respectively to close at A$30.33 and A$88.93.

Casino operator, SkyCity (SKC) slumped by 11.75% and announced further cost saving initiatives as it complies with government requirements to shut its facilities. SKC is reducing its CAPEX and cutting Executive salaries. SKC has already stood down 90% of its workforce. SKC operates casinos in New Zealand and Adelaide.

Harvey Norman (HVN) decided to cancel its interim dividend of 12c per share and will save the company $149.5m. It blamed the decision on coronavirus uncertainty. HVN actually went ex-dividend on Thursday and slumped by around 7%. The retailer's leadership team has agreed to a 20% pay cut.

On the economic front, the construction sector in Australia continued to contract in March, and at a faster rate, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group showed on Friday with a seasonally adjusted Performance of Construction Index score of 37.9. That's down from 42.7 and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. It also marks the lowest index reading since May 2013.

CURRENCY NEWS: The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 100.333 after crossing the 100 barrier yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6049 after seeing levels above $0.612 earlier in the week.

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