The S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) fell 0.3%, the second straight day of losses, with consumer staples (+1.9%) and IT (+2.1%) the only real winners.
The majority of the selling pressure came from healthcare and energy, falling 1.8% and 1.2% respectively, with continued weakness in CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) dragging the index down.
Woolworths’ Endeavour spin off sets sail
The news of the day was Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) successful spin-off or demerger of its Endeavour Group (ASX: EDV) business.
Endeavour holds the popular Dan Murphy’s chain as well as the pub and pokie assets, with management seeking to distance themselves from these ‘sin stock’ operations.
The Woolworths share price fell 11%, but in total less than $5, with shareholders receiving 1 new share in Endeavour for every Woolworths share held.
Endeavour shares closed at $6.05, leaving investors better off by around 4.5%. Endeavour intends to continue with Woolworths’ dividend policy of paying out around 70-75% of profits.
Transurban lifts dividends
Sticking with dividends, Transurban Group (ASX: TCL), which owns pretty much any toll road worth owning in Australia, fell 0.7%, after as Sydney lockdowns offset a 21.5 cent dividend announcement, which is a 30% improvement on 2020 levels.
CIMIC wins Vic project
Engineering and construction business CIMIC Group Ltd (ASX: CIM) gained just 0.1% despite winning a 30-year contract from the Victorian Government to deliver a portion of the proposed North East Link.
The $4 billion of work will include multiple tunnels but as recent events have shown, cost blowouts are common on these projects.
ASX retailers surge, Afterpay expands in US
The online retailing sector saw a massive rally on Thursday, Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL) adding 7.1%, Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) up 5.9% and Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) up 6.2% after UBS released a survey suggesting lower income workers were set to spur a massive increase in spending on services and goods, at least once lockdowns end.
Afterpay was in the news for other reasons, with the share price continuing its recovery after the business announced its entry into delivering a two-way service.
The group is set to offer a portion of its US users the ability to shop at a number of high profile stores, including Nike, Amazon and Walmart, directly via its own app. Afterpay shares are now up 40% in June alone.
ASX 200 today
The ASX 200 is poised to rise when the market opens on Friday, following a positive lead from US markets overnight. For all the latest, check out today’s US stock market report.
