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Category: Business, Economics and Finance / Stockmarket / Currency / Oil and Gas / Iron Ore

ASX closes lower amid US rate hike concerns

Friday, 2 Sep 2016 16:30:45 | Liz Hobday

The local market has closed lower, ending a week of losses. (AFP: Saeed Khan)

The local market has closed three-quarters of a per cent lower, ending a week of losses.

The All Ordinaries Index has closed at 5,470 and the ASX-200 has lost even more closing at 5,372.

Investors are waiting for key US jobs data out tonight, amid worries about a rate hike there.

The big banks were all down by about 1 per cent.

Westpac lost 33 cents to $29.17, the ANZ dropped 22 cents to $26.84 and NAB dipped 29 cents to $27.14.

Commonwealth Bank shares are 60 cents lower at $70.91.

The stockbroking arm of the Commonwealth Bank has been fined $700,000, for failing to disclose information to thousands of its clients.

Commsec will voluntarily refund more than $1 million in brokerage fees, and it has apologised to customers and says the problems have been fixed.

Meanwhile the company behind Four'N Twenty Pies was in a trading halt, ahead of a court hearing to consider a takeover bid, by a private equity firm.

Patties Foods shareholders voted for the takeover last week.

There was a mixed performance in energy and resources stocks, as oil prices saw a big drop this week of almost 10 per cent.

Woodside lost 27 cents to $28.08 while Santos was flat at $4.30 and Fortescue Metals went ex-dividend. The shares dropped 6 cents to $4.84.

In commodities, gold is slightly weaker at US$1,311 an ounce, iron ore is weaker at US$58.40 a tonne and oil is also lower at US$46.33 a barrel.

The Australian dollar has also dropped back to 75.4 US cents.

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