October 02, 2024 at 02:56 am EDT
(MT Newswires) -- Australian shares were flat on Wednesday as the market weighed in on slowing domestic industry contraction, while geopolitical concerns impacted the world market.
The S&P/ASX 200 was little changed to close at 8,198.20.
The global market was impacted by a Wall Street sell-off following a ballistic strike by Iran on Israel, fueling fears of additional conflict, Reuters reported.
On the domestic front, the Ai Group Australian Industry Index slowed down contraction in September, rising 4.9 points to negative 18.6, the trade organization said.
The indicators for activity and sales, inputs, new orders, and employment showed improvement but remained in negative territory amid slower demand.
Meanwhile, the Ai Group PMI for manufacturing fell 2.8 points to negative 33.6.
In corporate news, court documents showed that the Federal Court of Australia dismissed an appeal made by ANZ Group Holdings (ASX:ANZ, NZE:ANZ) concerning an earlier ruling over the financial services firm's AU$2.5 billion capital raise last August 2015. ANZ is currently reviewing the dismissal, according to a separate statement. The bank's shares were marginally lower at market close.
Santos (ASX:STO) closed up by more than 2% after it signed a liquefied natural gas supply contract with TotalEnergies Gas & Power Asia over a period of three years and one quarter. The oil and gas firm is expected to supply 20 LNG cargoes or about 500,000 tonnes per annum, starting in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Finally, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) ended almost 1% higher after disclosing that it will revamp its leadership team when Group Chief Risk Officer Nigel Williams and Group Executive for Human Resources Sian Lewis retire on Feb. 16, 2025.
Andrew Hinchliff, currently group executive under institutional banking and markets, will succeed Williams, while Kiersten Robinson will take over from Lewis. Chief Operations Officer Sinead Taylor will assume the role of group executive for institutional banking and markets, succeeding Hinchliff. Emma Bunnell will succeed Taylor as COO.

Sumber : MT Newswires