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S&P/ASX 200 dives 1.9% as virus resurgence concerns grow

Published: 12:57 25 Jun 2020 AEST

Argonaut Resources NL - S&P/ASX 200 dives 1.9% as virus resurgence concerns grow

S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) has slumped 1.92% to 5851 at 12.25 pm as the increasing number of new COVID-19 cases across the world dampened expectations of an economic recovery.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) fell 710.16 points, or 2.7%, to 25,445.94, S&P 500 Index (INDEXSP:.INX) dropped 2.6% to 3,050.33 while the Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) slid 2.2% to 9,909.17.

Wednesday’s sell-off in equities led investors into traditional safe havens such as gold and government bonds.  Gold prices touched their highest levels in nearly eight years, before retreating.

Record drop in job vacancies

The number of job vacancies dropped by a record 43% in the May quarter according to seasonally adjusted figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

This is the largest quarterly fall in job vacancies over the 40 years of the survey, and well above the previous largest drop of 27% during the 1990s recession.

Qantas recovery plan

Qantas said today it will slash 6000 jobs from its 29,000 workforce and will stand down 15,000 workers for at least the rest of the year as part of its three-year plan to speed recovery from the pandemic.

As part of the plan, Qantas will retire its six remaining Boeing 747s immediately, ground around 100 aircraft including most of its international fleet for up to 12 months and defer deliveries of new Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Airbus A320neos.

Top gainers

Today’s top gainers on the ASX include Opyl Ltd (ASX:OPL) (+10.00%), Volt Resources Ltd (ASX:VRC) (+25.00%), Argonaut Resources NL (ASX:ARE) (+12.50%) and Broken Hill Prospecting Ltd (ASX:BPL) (+11.76%).

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