The ASX has trimmed a sharp fall this afternoon.
The S&P/ASX200 dropped 129.50 points or 1.67% to 7,623.00, setting a new 20-day low. It briefly erased its 2024 gain. The index has lost 2.57%% for the last five days but is virtually unchanged over the last year to date.
US inflation jitters, elevated geopolitical risk and patchy economic data from China are all having an impact on the markets.
The bottom-performing stocks in this index are The Star Entertainment Group Ltd and Paladin Energy (ASX:PDNDA) Ltd (ASX:PDN), down 13.40% and 6.50% respectively.
Star’s woes impacting share price
The Star Entertainment Group is finding it difficult to complete the milestones set out for it to improve its corporate governance. Star is going through its second Bell Inquiry into its behaviour.
Special casino manager Nick Weeks has been trying to turn the culture of the group around since his appointment in October 2022 by the NSW Independent Casino Commission.
The first Bell Inquiry found existing management was unfit to hold a casino licence.
Last month, Star lost chief executive Robbie Cooke, chief financial officer Christina Katsibouba and chief of staff Peter Jenkins, throwing the business into disarray.
"The casino needs continuing supervision whether that is me or someone else," Weeks told the second Bell inquiry Tuesday.
The inquiry was told that former CEO Cooke oversaw a toxic culture.
A whistleblower complaint about the culture was heard by the second Bell inquiry.
The complaint said it “had become apparent that the board seems largely unconcerned about the Bell II review and it has taken a fightback stance”.
Speaking of the complaint, counsel assisting the inquiry Casper Conde said “In light of some of the material I was shown yesterday, there is some parallel between this allegation and some of the material you took me through.”
Star is accused of spying on Weeks’ diary entries and of readying for way with the regulator.
Despite that, Weeks said he would not call the entire organisation “toxic”.
“Toxic is really a very strong term that has been used in this complaint and it’s a very large organisation,” Weeks told the inquiry. “I have observed that there are areas of Star’s culture that need reform but I wouldn’t use the language toxic in terms of the broader organisation’s culture.”
Allegations against Cooke are thus far unsubstantiated.
Weeks did tell the inquiry that Cooke thought Crown Resorts, which is going through a similar ordeal, was being treated more favourably by its special managers.
“He (Mr Cooke) made some observations about how he felt that the reports did not adequately, or appropriately address, some of the non-casino related matters that the company has had to contend with over the past 12 months,” Weeks said.
“And he made some observations that he felt that the special managers in Victoria in relation to Crown were more favourable to Crown and he would have preferred that my reports included some of that style of material.”
Weeks claimed the instability of the leadership team was a key reason for the group’s inability to hit its milestones.
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