Market Wrap / banks bust

The Australian sharemarket stooped lower this Tuesday, dropping 0.52% to finish at 8,682.80 points, fueled by a selloff of the major banks which saw the big four all finish in the red. Commonwealth Bank led losses amongst the financials, erasing 3%.

Although it was Bluescope Steel which stole headlines following a takeover proposition by a consortium comprising Kerry Stokes-owned SGH and US-listed Steel Dynamics. Shares rose 20.8% to a 17-year high as Bluescope said it was assessing the $13 billion bid. Consequently, SGH Ltd climbed 4.5% after confirming its bid. 

Elsewhere, Monadelphous was awarded a construction contract with BHP, the $175 million project saw shares climb 2.4%. 

Over in the tech sector, Life360 surpassed 50 million monthly active users in the United States and completed the acquisition of advertising technology firm Nativo for $120-million dollars. Despite these advancements, the location tracking app dropped 3%.

Defence stocks remained bid amid geopolitical tensions, with Droneshield rallying 18.4% and ship-builder Austal up 8.3%.

In the smaller end of town, medicine therapy manufacturer Orthocell posted its seventh consecutive quarter of record revenue, earning $3.2 million over the December quarter and lifting its share price by 2.3%.