ASX 200 weekly wrap: Telstra, CBA, ANZ & Westpac lead falls

Weakness across the banks and falls from Telstra and biotech giant CSL helped drag the share market lower last week.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index and the broader All Ordinaries index each dropped about 1.4% to close at 5,602 points and 5,679 points, respectively.

The financials and utilities sectors each shed more than 2%, while the two bright spots were the retail-related consumer staples and mining-related materials sectors.

The telecommunications sector was the heaviest hit, falling more than 6% due to fears the competition watchdog could reject the planned merger between TPG Telecom and Vodafone Australia.

Investors had viewed the merger as a positive for the telcos sector.

Canstar General Manager of Wealth Josh Callaghan said the original news of the merger had boosted share prices of telco stocks across the market in August.

However, he said a statement from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last week has now cast doubt over the merger.

“The competition watchdog has signaled that they will delay their decision to approve the merger as they consider the implications of fewer competitors in the market,” Mr Callaghan said.

The ACCC’s statement said the commission’s preliminary view was that TPG was on track to become the fourth mobile network operator in Australia and is “likely to be an aggressive competitor”.

TPG’s shares plunged 14.5% to $6.30 to lead share price losses last week, while telco giant Telstra had a sharp slide in its market value, shedding $2.5 billion after its shares dropped 6.8% to $2.87.

Vocus Group followed its telco rivals lower with its shares falling by more than 10% to $3.18.

AMP Capital Chief Economist Shane Oliver said global stock markets, including the local market, mostly dropped last week due to nervousness around trade and global growth.

He said weak Chinese economic data and lower-than-expected economic figures in Europe and the US added to the risk-off mood.

Stronger commodity prices helped drive the miners and some energy players higher, with Syrah Resources and Whitehaven Coal among the top five biggest share price winners last week, while BHP Billiton had the biggest market value gain.

The banks had a tough week with Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ shedding a significant portion of their market value.

Mr Callaghan said Westpac’s annual general meeting, where shareholders voted down executive bonuses, contributed to the negativity around the banks.