Australian Shares Finish 0.7% Lower, Appen Surges 29% on Takeover Offer

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Australian Shares Finish 0.7% Lower, Appen Surges 29% on Takeover Offer
Credit: © Reuters.

By Oliver Gray 

Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 fell 49.3 points or 0.7% to 7,105.9 during Thursday’s trading session, erasing yesterday’s advance of 0.4% as investors continued to remain cautious amid the prospect of slowing global growth.

Among stocks, Consumer Staples led the broader market lower, down 2.5% with Woolworths Ltd (ASX: WOW ) falling 2.6%, Graincorp Ltd (ASX: GNC ) down 3.5%, Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL ) falling 2.2% and Endeavour Group Ltd (ASX: EDV ) shedding 6%.

Utilities were finished 1.2% lower as Mercury NZ Ltd (ASX: MCY ) fell 2.8%, Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG ) lost 1.3% and APA Group (ASX: APA ) declined 1.6%.

Materials fell 1% collectively with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO ) down 1.1%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX: BHP ) falling 0.9%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG ) dipping 3.7% and Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA ) down 2.3%.

Financials dipped 0.4% with Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG ) down 0.3%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ ) falling 0.4%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB ) down 0.3% and Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX: CBA ) falling 0.7%.

Information Technology bucked the trend, lifting 1% overall as Appen Ltd (ASX: APX ) popped 29.2% and was placed in a trading halt after receiving a $1.2 billion takeover offer from Canadian business Telus International.

On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year yields were at 3.2% while United States 10-Year rates were at 2.729%.

In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 0.3% to 11,204.

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