Business Recorder Logo

Australian shares lower; New Zealand up

03 Nov, 2017

Australian shares closed marginally lower on Thursday as a rally in the materials sector due to a rise in metals prices was offset by losses in financial stocks after National Australia Bank (NAB) flagged restructuring charges. The S&P/ASX 200 index which touched a two-and-a-half year high in early trade reversed gains to close down 0.1 percent or 6.066 points at 5,931.7. The benchmark had risen 0.49 percent to a near 6-month high on Wednesday.
Shares of NAB, Australia's largest business lender, ended 2.8 percent down after the company said it would incur restructuring charges of A$500 million ($385.55 million) to A$800 million. The bank added it would shed a net 4,000 jobs in the next three years. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.4 percent or 29.25 points to finish the session at 8,083.06.

Copyright Reuters, 2017
Published under arrangements with Reuters.

No content from Business Recorder shall be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication, or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.
Business Recorder shall not be responsible or held liable for any error of fact, opinion or recommendation and also for any loss, financial or otherwise, resulting from business or trade or speculation conducted, or investments made, on the basis of the information posted here. Nor shall Business Recorder be held liable for any actions taken in consequence." >Copyright Reuters, 2017

Read Comments