A flurry of business deals capped a fall in Australian shares on Monday after US Federal Reserve officials dampened investors’ hopes for an early interest rate cut.
Benchmark S&The P/ASX200 index fell 0.2% (16.3 points) to 7,426.4 at the close, with nine out of 11 sectors in the red. Zen Ordinary fell 0.2%.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsby said on Sunday (Monday AEDT) that it was too early to declare an inflation victory as monetary policy still relied on incoming price and consumer spending data. It comes after New York Fed President Williams told CNBC on Friday that talk of a March rate cut is “premature.”
The interest rate-sensitive real estate sector was the worst performer, falling 1.4%. Vicinity Centers fell 2.4% to $2.02, Mirvac fell 2.9% to $2.04, Centre fell 1.4% to $2.92 and Dexus fell 1.8% to $7.56.
The consumer staples sector fell 0.8%, weighed down by heavy losses at major supermarkets. Woolworths fell 0.7% to $36.40 and Coles fell 1.2% to $15.86.
In commodities, oil rose for the week for the first time since late October after Yemeni rebels launched drones and missiles targeting Israel and major shipping lines halted shipments through the Red Sea. Recorded. Brent rose above $77 per barrel.
Elsewhere, major mining companies tracked the fall in iron ore prices. Index heavyweight BHP Group fell 0.1% to $49.34, while Fortescue Metals fell 0.2% to $27.79. Singapore Exchange futures for the January contract fell 1.4% to $132 per tonne.
In corporate news, Adbri soared 31.2% to $2.98 after CRH and major shareholder Baro Group agreed to acquire the building materials company for $3.20 per share. The deal values Adbri at $2.1 billion.
Link Group soared 27.1% to $2.16 after it was announced that Mitsubishi UFJ will acquire the company for $2.10 per share in cash and will pay an additional 16 cents in dividends at a rate of 25%. Ta.
Gold Coast-based dental chain Pacific Smiles Group rose 18% to $1.41 per share after receiving a takeover offer from Genesis Capital Managers for $1.40 per share.
Property giant Stockland Group fell 3.6% to $4.3, despite finally announcing it had entered into a deal to acquire 12 master-planned communities from Lendlease for up to $1.3 billion.
Tabcorp soared 23.1 per cent to 90.5 cents after it said it would retain its exclusive license for retail betting and betting in pubs and clubs in Victoria, excluding international rivals such as Sportsbet.
Energy giant Santos fell 1.6% to $7.63 despite receiving approval from the country’s offshore oil regulator for revised plans to drill its $5.8 billion Barossa gas project in the Timor Sea.
Zip Company fell 2.4% to 61.5 cents. The ASX-listed buy now pay lay company has secured a $150 million loan at 15% interest from US money management giant Ares.
Shares in Melbourne-based biotechnology company Newren Pharmaceuticals soared 29.5% after positive results were revealed in a Phase 2 clinical trial of a drug to treat the cognitive disorder Phelan-McDiarmid syndrome in children. It became $22.20.