Australia Market tumbles 1.8%

The Australian share market finished lower for third straight session on Tuesday, 01 September 2020, as risk aversion selloff continued on following weakness across both US and European markets overnight. All sectors were lower, with banks, energy stocks, tech and property trusts being notable losers.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index dropped 107.06 points, or 1.77%, to 5,953.41. The broader All Ordinaries fell 102.70 points, or 1.64%, to 6,143.18.

Heavyweight financials shed, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corp being the biggest drags. QBE Insurance (QBE) was down 6% on news CEO Pat Regan has been sacked after almost three years in the top role.

 

The energy stocks also dropped. Santos and Woodside Petroleum fell 3.7% and 2.9%, respectively.

Qantas lost 1.3% after saying it had issued A$500 million of unsecured bonds to help strengthen liquidity and replace maturing debt.

Temple & Webster (TPW) fell 1.8% after CEO Mark Coulter announced the sale of 2.4 million of his shares in the online furniture retailer.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia Maintains Key Rate At Record Low, QE Unchanged- Australia's central bank board, governed by Philip Lowe, decided on Tuesday, to maintain its key interest rate at a record low and quantitative easing unchanged but increased the size of the Term Funding Facility. Under the expanded Term Funding Facility, authorized deposit-taking institutions will have access to additional funding, equivalent to 2 percent of their outstanding credit, at a fixed rate of 25 basis points for three years. Today's decision to expand term funding facility would raise the total amount available under the facility to around A$200 billion. The Board said it will maintain highly accommodative settings as long as is required and continues to consider how further monetary measures could support the recovery.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar last changed hands at $0.739 following a rise yesterday from levels around $0.735.

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