![]() The S&P 500 ended lower as investors awaited the result of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting. News Corp enjoyed a positive day after striking a news payment deal with Facebook yesterday. Telstra also made a rare appearance in the top 10 gains, rising 2.2 per cent to $3.19. The biggest gains were had by Collins Foods (+5.3pc), Uniball-Rodamco-Westfield, which owns overseas shopping centres rather than Westfield's Australian ones, (+4.4pc) and Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals (+3.1pc). The biggest losers among the top 200 companies were Corporate Travel Management (-5.6pc), chicken producer Inghams Group (-3.9pc) and litigation funder Omni Bridgeway (-3.7pc). The company's shares were down 1 per cent, although that was less than many other gold miners. "At this stage, gold production at Newcrest's Lihir operations remains unaffected," it said in an emailed statement. Gold miner Newcrest also has large operations in PNG and told the ABC it is "working closely" with the Australian government to understand the details of the travel ban. The ABC understands that Oil Search has less than a hundred fly-in, fly-out workers travelling between Australia and PNG on an eight-week rotation, with quarantine periods at both ends, so its operations have not yet been affected but its rostering will be reviewed in light of the worsening situation. PNG is in the midst of a worsening COVID-19 outbreak that has prompted urgent assistance from the Australian government and a ban on workers flying between there and Australia. The basic materials sector, which covers miners, was off 1.4 per cent overall, with big players BHP (-1.6pc) and Rio Tinto (-1pc) falling, and others such as South32 (-2.9pc) being hit harder.Įnergy stocks were off 1 per cent on the third straight day of falling oil prices.Īustralia's biggest player, Woodside, was down 0.9 per cent, while Papua New Guinea-focused Oil Search was off 2.5 per cent as was Origin Energy. Mining and energy stocks led the decline. Australian shares fallĮlsewhere on the market, the benchmark ASX 200 index closed down 0.5 per cent at 6,795, having been off by around 1 per cent earlier in the session, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended 0.4 per cent lower at 7,048. ![]() Zip, however, swung from one of the day's best performers before CBA's press release, to close 1.8 per cent down at $8.59 afterwards. After an initial dip, Afterpay shares ended today's trading 1.2 per cent higher at $112. Not that the dire forecast worried investors. The threat of competition and regulatory changes are key factors in UBS's $36 price target on Afterpay, around 68 per cent below its closing share price yesterday. UBS cautioned that the rules preventing merchants from passing on BNPL surcharges may soon be changed, to the detriment of Afterpay and, to a lesser extent, Zip. "The lucrative economics of BNPL (particularly in APT's case), given its enormous success to date, will attract competition," he noted. UBS analyst Tom Beadle warned that Afterpay's high merchant fees - its main source of income - would be challenged by CBA's much cheaper offering to retailers. The announcement initially dented the share prices of Australia's current leading BNPL providers, Afterpay and Zip, as analysts warned of the competitive and regulatory risks CBA's move would pose. The bank said the service would not be available for cash advances or gambling, and would start in the middle of the year. In a direct challenge to Afterpay, CBA said it would not charge businesses additional costs beyond its standard merchant service fees, and the service would be available anywhere Mastercard was accepted.ĬBA said there would be no ongoing fees, although there would be a $10 charge per missed instalment repayment, and other account fees may apply. The Commonwealth Bank has announced its own in-house buy now, pay later (BNPL) product for its account holders.Īlready partnered with, and a part owner of, Swedish BNPL firm Klarna, this is a separate offering for CBA account holders with a regular salary that is deposited into their account at the bank and who meet the eligibility criteria.Ĭustomers will be able to pay off transactions between $100 and $1,000 in four fortnightly instalments.
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