A spate of headlines over the weekend naturally put pressure on the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) on Monday, with the index falling 1% at the open but finding support throughout the day to finish down just 0.5%.
It was quite a negative day, with the technology, utilities and materials sectors taking the biggest hits, in many cases due to company-specific results.
The winners were of course the ‘defensive’ consumer staples and real estate sectors with Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) and Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX) up 0.8% and 2.5%, respectively.
Uniti on the market
The telecoms sector was powered by a 9.3% jump in broadband roll-up Uniti Group Ltd (ASX: UWL), which announced it had received more than one takeover offer, rumoured to be from pension funds and infrastructure managers.
Fortescue makes battery acquisition
Shares in both Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) were lower, with the former falling 2% after announcing a deal to purchase Williams Advanced Engineering.
The purchase will come at a cost of $310 million, with the Williams business related to the original F1 team and focusing specifically on electric vehicle technology.
Twiggy Forrest is continuing his global quest to turn Fortescue into a net-zero business by 2030.
Economic data turns weaker
One of the less covered announcements on Monday was news that the Australian business sector shrank for the first time in four months, with the Composite PMI index tanking from 54.9 points in December to 45.3 in January.
The Services PMI also dropped from 55.1 to just 45 points, which suggests falling confidence and a shrinking economy hit by the masses of people in isolation.
Adairs share price slumps
Popular 2020 stock Adairs Ltd (ASX: ADH) had a terrible day, falling 21.5% after reporting sales were flat on the same period in 2020 at $242 million. Same-store sales grew at just 2.7% and earnings will halve on 2020 levels.
Management warned of higher costs of doing business as rent returned to normal, along with higher staff costs due to labour and product shortages.
The big question is how the company manages its way from here, with supply chains all pointing to China, placing continuing pressure.
Regis downgrades
Finally, shares in gold miner Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) fell by another 1% after cutting its production guidance by more than 15%.
ASX 200 today
Looking ahead, the ASX 200 is expected to open lower again this morning as US stock markets swung wildly overnight.
The S&P 500 was down by as much as 4% during the session but stormed home into the close to finish 0.3% higher. To find out more, check out my US stock market report.
