The S&P/ASX 200 index has followed the lead of U.S. markets and crashed lower on Monday. At lunch the benchmark index is down 1.5% to 6,425.2 points.
Here's what has been happening on Monday:
Banks sink lower.
The Australian banking sector has weighed heavily on the market today after all the big four banks dropped notably lower. The worst performers in the group have been the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) share price and the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price with declines of ~2%.
Gold miners charge higher.
The market may have sunk lower, but the same cannot be said for gold miners including Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL). They have surged higher thanks to a rise in the gold price which was driven by investors switching to risk off assets following trade war concerns. The S&P/ASX All Ords Gold index is up 8.5% at lunch.
Fortescue results.
The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price has tumbled 3% lower despite reporting a record profit result. The iron ore producer reported record underlying EBITDA of US$6 billion and record underlying NPAT of US$3.2 billion. This was an impressive 90% and 195% increase, respectively, on the prior corresponding period. I suspect its shares would have risen higher today had the trade war not caused a market selloff.
Boral disappoints.
The Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) share price has crashed over 19% lower after the release of its full year results. Boral posted a disappointing 7% decline in adjusted EPS to 37.5 cents per share despite its revenue from continuing operations increasing 4% to $5.8 billion. Both missed consensus expectations. Looking ahead, management is forecasting a 5% to 15% drop in net profit in FY 2020.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 index on Monday has been the Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) share price with a gain of almost 15% thanks to the strong rise in the gold price. The Boral share price is the worst performer with its 19% decline, closely followed by the G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) share price. The childcare centre operator's shares are down 16.5% following the release of a soft half year result.
