Australian Stocks Suffered Losses on July 6

Australian stocks were lower after the close on July 6, as losses in telecom services, healthcare, and IT sectors affected shares. At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.73%.

The worst performers were Polynovo Ltd, which dropped 8.75% or 0.230 points to trade at 2.400 at the close. Meanwhile, Appen Ltd fell 6.19% or 0.80 points to end at 12.12 and Ramelius Resources Ltd declined 5.44% or 0.095 points to 1.650.

Falling stocks outperformed advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 819 to 516 and 407 ended unchanged.

Shares in Whitehaven Coal Ltd jumped to 52-week highs, rising 3.90% or 0.080 to 2.130.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, gained 3.95% to 12.046.

Gold futures for August delivery rose 1.39% or 24.75 to $1808.05 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August gained 2.29% or 1.72 to hit $76.88 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 0.73% or 0.56 to trade at $77.72 a barrel.

The Australian dollar strengthened its position against the greenback. The Aussie rose 0.68% to 0.7581 against the U.S. dollar. It rose against the yen as well. The Aussie gained 0.53% to 83.98 against the yen.

Australian high-street retailer and its top investor

Premier Investments Ltd increased its stake in Myer Holdings Ltd to 15.77%. Myer is an Australian department store chain, Premier Investments Ltd is the top investor of Myer. The company’s top investor wants to modernize an iconic high-street retailer. Premier Investments bought 41 million shares in Myer, according to the statement released by the company.

Its billionaire chairman Solomon Lew separately called on Myer’s board to resign immediately.

Solomon Lew’s clout was on show in 2020 when Myer’s then-chairman, Garry Hounsell said he would leave the company. He decided to retire after failing to get support from Premier and the second-largest shareholder Wilson Asset Management.

Premier Investments is ready to work with other shareholders to reconstitute the Myer board with directors who have expertise across retail, property, logistics, and e-commerce to improve the situation.

Australian high-street retailer declined to comment on the statement by Premier Investments, while its stock jumped 14% to close at A$0.425.

Myer and other brick-and-mortar retailers suffered tremendous losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company reported a 13% drop in first-half sales in March, mainly due to store closures amid the pandemic.