Australia Stocks extend losses on virus woes

The Australian share market finished session lower on Friday, 30 October 2020, amid lingering worries over the global coronavirus pandemic and growing risk of an inconclusive result to the Nov. 3 U.S. election.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 32.76 points, or 0.55%, to 5,927.58. The broader All Ordinaries dropped 34.78 points, or 0.56%, to 6,133.21. the S&P/ASX200 index fell 3.9% this week.

A surge in coronavirus cases in Europe and the United States has rattled investor confidence this week, with France and Germany reinstating lockdowns - a move that has raised concerns over global economic recovery.

Today, only financials and energy improved as all other sectors closed in the red. Industrials, consumer discretionary and IT were among the largest decliners.

Australian tech sub-index tumbled 2%, with fintech firm EML Payments losing 5.6% and machine learning company Appen shedding 3.8%. The healthcare sub-index slid 1.2%, with industry major CSL declining 1.4% and Healius falling 3.4%.

Wealth manager AMP Limited (AMP) was the standout among financials and on the broader market with confirmation of a proposed takeover bid by US investment firm, Ares Management Corporation. The talks are still in preliminary stages while AMP conducts its portfolio review with significant interest received for its assets and businesses. AMP shares surged 19.5%. Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and ANZ Bank (ANZ) also rose.

ResMed (RMD) was another winner with the medical device maker rallying 9.5% on the release of the 1Q21 earnings. A 10% lift in revenue to $751.9 million was ahead of expectations with the company still benefitting from the sale of ventilators due to COVID-19.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7041, having seen a decline from levels above $0.708 earlier this week.

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