The benchmark index S&P/ASX200 dropped 1.45% to 6,247 points and the All Ordinaries fell 1.06% to 6,358 points over the course of last week, with the heavyweight financials sector down 4.53%.
The utilities sector was down by almost 4%, followed by more than 1% falls from energy and the retail-related consumer staples, while the telecommunications sector was a standout with a 5.7% plus gain.
Canstar’s General Manager of Wealth Josh Callaghan said the share market was unable to recover from a big fall early in the week, while the leadership spill that resulted in a new prime minister did not help build market confidence.
Shares in the big four banks fell last week with Westpac leading losses after it reported on Friday a surprisingly weak third quarter net interest margin (NIM) of 2.06%, down from 2.17% in the first half of its financial year.
Mr Callaghan said the NIM was a bank’s profit engine and represented the difference between how much it buys money for and how much it sells money for, in the form of loans.
“Westpac now has the option to either increase their lending rates, which will make them less competitive and therefore stunt their loan growth, or the shareholders will need to wear the difference in the form of lower earnings flowing through to the bottom line,” Mr Callaghan said.
“Investors wiped almost $9.3 billion off Westpac’s market cap last week, reflecting their lower earnings expectations.”
Shares in Westpac declined by almost 9% to $27.66 last week, while Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and National Australia Bank had share price falls of more than 4%.
| ASX 200 companies – Top 5 Biggest Market Cap Gains and Losses (20/08/2018 to 24/08/2018) | |||||||||
| Biggest Gains | Biggest Losses | ||||||||
| Rank | Company | $ Change in Market Cap | Closing Share Price | % Change in Share Price | Rank | Company | $ Change in Market Cap | Closing Share Price | % Change in Share Price |
| 1 | CSL (CSL) | $3,963,030,868 | $224.43 | 4.1% | 1 | Westpac (WBC) | -$9,273,951,120 | $27.66 | -8.9% |
| 2 | TPG Telecom (TPG) | $1,632,948,228 | $7.73 | 29.5% | 2 | Commonwealth Bank (CBA) | -$5,983,465,962 | $70.89 | -4.6% |
| 3 | Telstra (TLS) | $1,427,195,743 | $3.21 | 3.9% | 3 | ANZ (ANZ) | -$5,245,828,040 | $28.50 | -5.9% |
| 4 | Santos (STO) | $1,405,964,952 | $6.89 | 10.9% | 4 | National Australia Bank (NAB) | -$3,390,135,245 | $27.61 | -4.3% |
| 5 | WiseTech Global (WTC) | $1,247,674,285 | $20.04 | 26.1% | 5 | Wesfarmers (WES) | -$1,224,547,461 | $51.49 | -2.1% |
| Prepared by Canstar. Prices taken as of week to week close. | |||||||||
On the flip side, telecommunication group TPG Telecom had a stellar week with its share price up nearly 30% at $7.73, adding $1.6 billion to its market value.
Fueling TPG’s share price swing was speculation that it is in merger talks with Vodafone Hutchison Australia to create the nation’s third largest telco.
Telstra also performed well with its shares up almost 4% at $3.21 and its market value grew by $1.4 billion.
| ASX 200 Listed Companies – Top 5 Biggest Share Price Gains and Losses (20/08/2018 to 24/08/2018) | |||||||
| Biggest Gains | Biggest Losses | ||||||
| Rank | Company | Closing Share Price | % Change | Rank | Company | Closing Share Price | % Change |
| 1 | TPG Telecom (TPG) | $7.73 | 29.5% | 1 | Primary Health Care (PRY) | $2.70 | -15.5% |
| 2 | Altium (ALU) | $27.47 | 27.5% | 2 | Flight Centre Travel (FLT) | $57.91 | -15.4% |
| 3 | WiseTech Global (WTC) | $20.04 | 26.1% | 3 | Western Areas (WSA) | $2.60 | -11.3% |
| 4 | Eclipx Group (ECX) | $2.64 | 23.4% | 4 | Ausdrill (ASL) | $1.74 | -11.0% |
| 5 | Appen (APX) | $13.75 | 23.2% | 5 | Westpac (WBC) | $27.66 | -8.9% |
| Prepared by Canstar. Prices taken as of week to week close. | |||||||
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