Market Wrap / broad sell-off

The Australian market fell Thursday, along with weakness in broader Asian markets after China's CPI slowed and traders fretted over the pace of further Federal Reserve cuts.

The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.2% to 8329.20 points, with eight out of 11 sectors in the red.

November retail sales grew slower than expected, up 0.8% versus expectations of a rise of 1%. However it was the biggest increase in 10 months as the Black Friday discount frenzy drew in consumers. The consumer discretionary sector fell 0.4%. Discount jewellery retailer Lovisa came under pressure after UBS downgraded it to a “sell”. 

Elsewhere Star Entertainment hit all time lows after flagging it has only $79 million in cash, far less than it spent in the last quarter. Star shares closed lower by 33.3% to $0.13. Energy stocks also suffered from negative market sentiment, falling 0.4% with Woodside dropping over 1%.

Westgold Resources reported increased gold production, but still far from the company’s guidance leaving the lower by 13.7%. 

But Arcadium Lithium gained 7.9% after US authorities gave the greenlight to its proposed acquisition by Rio Tinto. Rio shares rose 0.4%.

Tonight, Eurozone retail sales data is due, before household spending locally tomorrow.