The S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.6 percent lower on Thursday in a session marked by sharp declines for consumer-facing companies, mirroring a horrid day on Wall Street.
The consumer staples sector fell 3.1 per cent, the worst among the 11 sharemarket sectors, followed by consumer discretionary shares and tech stocks, which each fell 2.7 per cent.
The action weighed on Wesfarmers, the Bunnings parent, which dropped 7.8 per cent. Woolworths fell 5.6 per cent and JB Hi-Fi 6.6 per cent.
The decline followed a drop in US shares that wiped 4 per cent from the S&P 500 index of blue chips, the worst day in nearly two years. Retailer Target fell 25 per cent, amid worries in the sector that higher costs would hit profits.
Healthcare was the only local sharemarket sector to avoid a drop, in a signal of the breadth of the declines. The sector added 0.1 per cent and was held aloft by small gains in its biggest constituents. CSL inched 0.3 per cent higher and Ramsay Health Care 0.2 per cent, buoyed by confirmation that KKR had increased its bid for the company to $88 per share.
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