Australian Shares Fall Amid Worsening Manufacturing Conditions; Sigma Hits Five-Year High

MT Newswires Live10-01

Australian shares retreated on Tuesday amid a continued deterioration in the manufacturing sector, while the country's competition watchdog advanced on its probes.

The S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.7%, or 60.90 points, to close at 8,208.90.

Australia's factory firms sank deeper into contraction as the Judo Bank Manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index fell to 46.7 in September from 48.5 in August.

The total number of dwellings approved in the country declined 6.1% to 13,991 in August following an 11% increase in July, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed.

In a separate statement, ABS said that retail turnover rose 0.7% month over month in August, a bigger-than-expected increase as shoppers spent more on outdoor dining and camping goods.

In corporate news, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) secured AU$30 million in funding from the Treasurer for three and a half years to support its ongoing probes in the retail sector. This came on the heels of formal proceedings against Woolworths (ASX:WOW) and Coles (ASX:COL) related to alleged contraventions of consumer law. Shares of the retailers inched up 0.5% each at market close.

Separately, the ACCC is seeking market feedback on the proposed merger of Chemist Warehouse and Sigma Healthcare (ASX:SIG). Sigma hit a five-year high on Tuesday, with shares up 23%.

In other news, REA Group (ASX:REA) rose nearly 5% on its withdrawal from its acquisition offer for UK real estate platform Rightmove after the latter rejected the group's fourth non-binding indicative cash-and-share offer.

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