
ASX falls to worst day since April
The benchmark ASX 200 slumped 89 points or 1.02 per cent to 8,668.20. The massive falls came just a single trading day after the benchmark had its best gains since the mid April recovery.
Even with the large falls during Monday's trading, the ASX 200 still had its second highest ever close.
The broader All Ordinaries also fell 80.60 points or 0.89 per cent to 8,926.20.
The local dollar eked out a small gain and was buying 65.13 US cents at the time of writing. ASX slumps to its worst day since the post Trump Liberation Day falls. Photo: Gaye Gerard / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia
Banks, consumer discretionary and property stocks led the declines with the market heavy financials slumping 2.51 per cent.
Westpac was the hardest hit of the big four banks down 3.61 per cent to $33.07, while CBA slumped 2.52 per cent to $177.87, ANZ sank 2.50 per cent to $30.05 and NAB slid 2.40 per cent to $38.25.
Consumer discretionary stocks also slumped during Monday's trading.
Wesfarmers fell 0.97 per cent to $83.75, JB Hi Fi dropped 1.48 per cent to $105.91 and Eagers Automotive slumped 3.58 per cent to $18.88.
IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said Monday's sharp fall is the largest since the Liberation Day sell-off in early April and is almost twice the size ASX futures predicted when they closed 49 points lower on Saturday morning.
'In the absence of any fresh news, today's pullback is possibly related to profit taking ahead of the August earnings season which will likely highlight stretched valuations with certain sectors, particularly the banks,' he said.
Meanwhile the major iron ore miners were one of the bright spots on the market, after the price of the underlying commodity continued its march higher.
Iron ore futures rose 1.2 per cent to $US99.50 a tonne. The major miners were the rare bright spot on a sea of green. NewsWire / Jeremy Piper Credit: News Corp Australia
Shares in BHP rose 0.42 per cent to $40.46, Rio Tinto gained 1.19 per cent to $114.46 while Fortescue climbed 1.47 per cent to $17.25.
In company news, AMP shares jumped 9.77 per cent to $1.68 after announcing its latest results. According to its latest statement AMP's superannuation division posted its first net inflow since 2017, along with growth in its platform and rising assets under management.
Shares in Afterpay's parent company Block soared 11.18 per cent to $122 after cracking the US S & P 500.
Block will replace Hess Corp after it was acquired by Chevron.
Australian home builder AV Jennings is up 1.50 per cent to $0.68 after it announced a fully franked special dividend of 16.7 cents per share on the condition it can be acquired by American real estate firm Proprium Capital Partners.
Shares in Cromwell Property Group jumped 8.22 per cent to $0.40, after announcing Brookfield has signed a binding sales and purchase agreement which is subject to the Foreign Investment Review Board approval.
Investsmart Group shares also soared 9.09 per cent to $0.12 per cent after the business announced a jump in total funds under management and strong performance fees revenue.
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Perth Now
12 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Bold plan to give you extra $3,300 a year
Teal independent Kate Chaney has floated a radical plan to hand everyone $3,300 a year in exchange for a hike in the GST. Ms Chaney has been working with Australian economist Richard Holden on a proposal to raise the GST from 10 to 15 per cent, and apply the tax to education, food and health. In exchange for the tax hike, every adult would be paid $3300 - effectively wiping out the GST expenses on someone's first $22,000 of spending. Ms Chaney and Professor Holden's plan has been submitted to the federal government to be considered at the productivity-focused economic roundtable, a summit to be held in Canberra from August 19 to 21. 'GST is an efficient tax – it is hard to avoid – and with lower and middle-income groups potentially better off under this proposal, it can be progressive,' Ms Chaney said. Kate Chaney supports the plan which would leave the lowest 60 per cent of income earners better off. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia 'Unlike personal income tax, it doesn't hamper productivity. 'Intergenerational inequity is built into our tax system - younger generations are facing the growing burden of funding an ageing population and will bear the cost of future interest payments to cover the structural deficit forecast for the next decade.' The WA MP's plan has been costed and would raise an additional $95.2bn for the government in its first year of operation, minus the $3300 rebate to every adult. Low and middle-income earners would be up to $371 better off, but the top-20 per cent of earners would be $2200 worse off. All that leaves the government with an additional $24bn a year. The Prime Minister and Treasurer have been hesitant in their language around GST reform leading up to the economic roundtable meetings. The economic roundtable meetings are being held in Canberra later this month. Mark Stewart / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia 'I expect that there'll be a whole range of ideas put forward, much of which is contradictory with each other,' Anthony Albanese said this week. 'It doesn't mean that they're government decisions we're making, because they're not.' But Mr Albanese was more explicit in his language on Thursday. 'The only tax policy that we're implementing is the one that we took to the election,' he said. While the current GST scheme is considered regressive, Professor Holden's plan is pitched as progressive. 'I'm a supporter of progressive taxation,' Mr Albanese told Sky News in July. 'Consumption taxes, by definition, are regressive in their nature. So that's something that you know doesn't fit with the agenda.' Parliamentary Budget Office costings of Professor Holden and Ms Chaney's scheme show the bottom 60 per cent of income earners would be better with the GST hike and $3300 rebate. Food is currently exempt from GST - Professor Holden's plan would remove that exemption. NewsWire / David Crosling Credit: News Corp Australia 'Our proposal would make our taxation system more efficient, make our economy more dynamic and provide the impetus for productivity growth,' Professor Holden said. 'It is widely accepted that the GST is an efficient tax, but it is thought to be regressive. 'This plan shows that it doesn't have to be that way. By providing every adult Australian with a $22,000 GST-free threshold the GST can be both efficient and progressive.' The government has promoted the roundtable meetings as being focused on productivity. The Australian Council of Social Services says the country's lagging productivity is widening inequality. In the council's submission to the roundtable, chief executive Cassandra Goldie calls for reform to the tax system to raise more revenue, reduce inequality and drive action to address climate change. 'For too long now, people with plenty have been showered with tax breaks that pull investment away from productive purposes and rob essential public services of the revenue they need,' Dr Goldie said. The council is advocating for changes to employment opportunities and streamlining income support. 'The extra revenue we need to fund care and community services, schools, and an income support system that protects people from poverty must come from those with the most capacity to pay - not those doing it toughest,' Dr Goldie said. 'We must better prepare and train people for jobs and finally lift income support to levels that don't trap people in poverty and destitution.'

News.com.au
12 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Lunch Wrap: Stocks slip lower at lunch, market operator ASX plunges as monopoly under threat
Market operator ASX plunges as monopoly days look numbered Tech and real estate perk up on rate cut whispers Rio and Fortescue wobble as China property hopes fade By Thursday lunchtime in the east, the ASX was slipping a bit further into the red, down by 0.25%. Banks lagged, but retailers and real estate led the winners – those rate-sensitive beasts that perk up fast when rumours of rate cuts start floating in from Wall Street. And float in they did. Overnight, the Fed Reserve's Neel Kashkari cracked the door open, saying a rate cut might arrive 'soon'. In the mining space, iron ore names like Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and Fortescue (ASX:FMG) came under pressure after UBS walked back its call on China's property rebound. Analyst John Lam now reckons the turnaround won't hit until mid-to-late 2026, later than the early 2026 bounce he tipped just a few months ago. Without fresh stimulus, the sales slump is likely to linger. That's bad news for iron ore demand, and markets know it. 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Still in large caps, AMP (ASX:AMP) rose 1% despite revealing a statutory net profit of $98 million, down nearly 5% year-on-year. One notable move this morning was gaming giant Light & Wonder (ASX:LNW), which announced it will officially delist from Nasdaq and go all-in on the ASX. After mulling it over for months, the Las Vegas-based company says the ASX will become its sole listing by November 2025. LNW's shares plunged 5%. 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The deal covers VR training systems, rollout, and support, with delivery due in Q2 FY26. Back home, XRG has also picked up a $2.1m government grant to ramp up AI across the platform. Alara Resources (ASX:AUQ) has flicked the switch on new tailings filter presses at its Al Wash-hi Majaza copper-gold plant in Oman, boosting production capacity from around 65% to a projected 85-90%. The interim units, sourced from China, are already lifting output, with monthly concentrate expected to hit 3000-3200 dry tonnes. A permanent press is on the way, which should push the plant closer to full throttle. Marquee Resources (ASX:MQR) has struck antimony in every hole from its first drill campaign at Mt Clement, confirming extensions and uncovering new structures. The project sits next to Australia's largest undeveloped antimony resource, and a maiden mineral resource estimate is due by August-end, with phase 2 drilling to kick off this quarter. Infinity Mining (ASX:IMI) has confirmed more high-grade gold at its Sir Walter Scott prospect in northern NSW, with nine out of 12 rock chips grading over 1 g/t, including a standout 68.6 g/t. The samples were taken along a 1km corridor, building on earlier results and aligning with historical high-grade production from the late 1800s. 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West Australian
23 minutes ago
- West Australian
Australia ‘very concerned' by Donald Trump's 250 per cent pharmaceutical tariff threat
Australia's Health Minister has admitted he's 'very concerned' by Donald Trump's threat to raise pharmaceutical tariffs as high as 250 per cent and insisted PBS is off limits. Mark Butler has vowed Australia will continue to 'press the case' for the continuation of free trade with America — acknowledging it would be a major blow to Australian patients and producers. US President Donald Trump told CNBC this week he would expand this tariff regime by slapping new tariffs on foreign-made pharmaceuticals. 'It's going to go to 150 per cent and then it's going to go to 250 per cent,' he told the US business news channel. He said the final rate is expected to be announced within the next week or so, with a transitional period to give drug manufacturers time to adjust their supply chains. 'We are very concerned about the latest announcement from the administration around the possibility of pharmaceutical tariffs going as high as 250 per cent over the next couple of years,' Mr Butler told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday. 'That is why we're working so hard to press the case for the continuation of free trade.' Under the $18 billion-dollar Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the government negotiates with the drug companies to enable Australians to buy life-saving drugs worth thousands of dollars for as little as $25 a script. In a series of letters to 17 drug manufacturers on Friday, Mr Trump had also demanded they negotiate harder with 'foreign freeloading nations' he blamed for higher US drug prices. It comes after a submission was made to the US government March by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) claiming Australia's subsidised medical system was 'egregious and discriminatory'. Mr Butler said the US and Australian pharmaceutical trade relationship benefited both nations. 'America exports more pharmaceuticals to Australia than we do to them. They do it on a tariff-free basis,' he said. 'That's served both of our countries very well and we'll continue to argue the case for a continuation of free trade in pharmaceuticals.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia would continue to support the PBS and spruiked his government's recent legislation in the first sitting black of the 48th Parliament to make PBS medicines even cheaper. 'We support the PBS. It is part of who we are as Australia. We're a sovereign nation, it's something that has produced massive benefits for Australia. It's a proud Labor creation and we are building on it,' he said on Thursday when asked if he was concerned by the latest development of Trump's ever-expanding tariffs. 'That's why we introduced legislation last week to reduce the cost of medicines to $25 that are listed on the PBS.' It comes as Mr Trump's country-specific 'reciprocal' tariffs, first floated on 'Liberation Day' in April, were scheduled to take effect on August 7. The US imposed a 10 per cent baseline tariff on imported goods from Australia which was the lowest rate of other nations.