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The acting chief executive officer of Star, Australia's second-biggest casino operator, has resigned as the company struggles to hold onto its casino licence in Sydney after a damning report.
Key points:
- The ASX 200 has lost 13.4 per cent since the year began
- On Friday, the Dow Jones index fell 1.6 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 1.7 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.9 per cent
- The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 2.3 per cent
The company said Geoff Hogg's final departure date was yet to be determined.
"In the meantime, he will work with the Board to transition his executive responsibilities in an orderly manner," the company said in an announcement.
Meanwhile, Ben Heap will assume the role of executive chairman, on an interim basis, effective immediately and until Robbie Cooke starts as incoming managing director and CEO.
On September 13 an inquiry found the casino operator unfit to hold a licence in Sydney.
The inquiry's report into alleged breaches of anti-money laundering laws and criminal infiltration gave the company 14 days to convince New South Wales authorities that it should be allowed to keep its operating licence.
Australia's casino sector has faced intense scrutiny over the last three years after Star's larger rival Crown was found unfit to hold gambling licenses on account of money laundering, prompting some states to launch investigations.
Shares of Star fell 2.6 per cent to $2.63.
ASX hits three-month low
Australian shares started the week sharply lower after global equity markets tumbled on Friday.
The ASX 200 closed down 105 points or 1.6 per cent to 6,469.
By 4:15pm AEST, the Australian dollar was down at 64.92 US cents.
The market reflected a broader weakness, as investors continued to reposition themselves amid fears of an economic slowdown, after the Fed raised US rates by another 75 basis points for the third consecutive time last week and warned of further increases.
Energy stocks were the top laggards and fell 6.3 per cent, their biggest drop in more than two months.
Oil and gas majors Woodside Energy and Santos slipped 5 per cent and 7.3 per cent, respectively.
Miners slid 5.9 per cent, with BHP and Rio Tinto dropping 5.2 per cent and 5.6 per cent, respectively.
Weak bullion prices dragged the gold sub-index down 6.5 per cent to hit a five-year low, with the country's largest gold miner, Newcrest Mining, slipping 5.9 per cent.
Financials declined 0.7 per cent, with ANZ dropping 1.5 per cent.
Bucking the trend, healthcare stocks added 2 per cent. However, Ramsay Health Care dipped 2.4 per cent after the hospital operator said it would cease discussions with consortium led by KKR & Co on the buyout proposal.
Separately, Link Administration tumbled 7.9 per cent and was among the top losers on ASX, after its $US1.6 billion ($2.47 billion) buyout by Canada's Dye & Durham fell through on Friday.
Fruit grower Costa Group tumbled 14.2 per cent to its lowest since early 2016 and was the top loser on ASX after Sean Hallahan stepped down as chief executive officer and managing director.
Meanwhile, Qantas Group appointed Stephanie Tully as the new chief executive officer of Jetstar.
The company said current Jetstar CEO Gareth Evans would leave his role by the end of 2022 and Markus Svensson would be promoted to the chief customer officer role of Jetstar.
Shares of Qantas shed 1.6 per cent to $5.06.
On the oil markets, Brent crude oil was up, trading at $US85.06 a barrel, by 04:21pm AEST.
Dow poised to confirm bear market
US and European stocks tumbled on Friday, the dollar scaled a 22-year high and bonds sold off again as fears grew that a central bank prescription of raising interest rates to tame inflation will drag major economies into recession.
The Dow narrowly missed confirming a bear market as a deepening downturn in business activity across the euro zone, and US business activity contracting for a third month in September, left Wall Street wallowing in a sea of red.
George Goncalves, head of US macro strategy at MUFG, said the Fed wanted financial conditions to tighten and high interest rates were the mechanism to deliver a market investors had not seen for a long time.
"It's something we're not used to, that's why it's more surprising for most," he said.
"It's going to be a long staring contest between the Fed and the markets, and in the middle is the economy which is not responding yet to this tightening."
MSCI's world stocks index shed 2.1 per cent to almost two-year lows. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down 2.3 per cent, its biggest weekly loss in three months.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.6 per cent, the first major US stock index to fall below its June trough on an intraday basis. But the blue-chip index averted confirming a bear market, as it missed closing 20 per cent or more lower than its record high, according to a widely used definition.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, already in bear market territory, fell 1.7 per cent and 1.9 per cent, respectively.
Britain, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway and other countries also hiked rates last week. But the Fed's signal that it expects high US rates to persist through 2023 sparked the rout in equity and bond markets.
Investors are trying to get a handle on inflation and how high rates will go, said Andrzej Skiba, head of the BlueBay US fixed income team at RBC Global Asset Management.
"There's unease in the market about having confidence that we know how inflation will develop and that yields will indeed peak in the mid-high 4s," he said, referring to a Fed projection of the fed funds rate at 4.6 per cent in late 2023.
"People have been reflecting on that uncertainty and it might mean more tightening ahead, it might mean even more tightening of financial conditions that the markets have to go through."
ABC/Reuters