The Australian share market closed lower today, falling 32.70 points or 0.43% to 7,505.20 after setting a new 100-day high.
Over the last five days, the index has moved up 1.73% and is currently 0.82% off of its 52-week high.
Sectors were a mixed bag, with Utilities (0.44%) and Industrials (0.43%) up, Information Technology (-1.60%) and Consumer Discretionary (-1.10%) firmly down, and everything else pretty flat.
Retail facing tough time
As the year draws to an end, many sectors are in a reflective mood following a year in which the economy narrowly avoided a recession.
One sector had a much harder time of it with real retail spending declining for three consecutive quarters as consumers tightened their belts as the cost of living soared.
Official retail sales statistics suggest the sector held its own through the relentless cycle of rate rises over the last year and stubbornly high inflation, but data from Deloitte Access Economics and Kepler Analytics show that the sector is under considerable strain.
While there was a welcome bump for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which have been gathering steam in Australia for the last few years, this will not change Deloitte’s projection that real retail spending will be down 0.9% at year-end – the first decline for the sector in 40 years.
Anti-competitive mergers
In other news, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is pushing for the authority to directly assess and potentially block prospective mergers that could be detrimental to consumer interests.
The proposed change would mark a shift from the existing system, under which the ACCC is limited to challenging mergers post-completion in court. The reform would enable the commission to proactively safeguard consumer welfare and maintain competitive market dynamics.
ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb has voiced concerns regarding the inadequacy of the remedies proposed by the Treasury to address the issues inherent in the current merger control regime, saying it does not effectively resolve the challenges faced in preventing anti-competitive mergers.
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