Australian Investors See Red Ink

SYDNEY (04/17/2000) - As was widely predicted, the reverberations from Wall Street's record 617-point loss on Friday caused similar carnage for Australian investors this morning.

At 10:25a.m. Australian eastern time, the All Ordinaries was down a massive 207 points, or 6.7 percent for the day, before recovering slightly to be at 2930.8, down 165.2 points, or down 5.34 percent, at approximately 11:00am.

Not surprisingly, among the biggest losers were technology stocks.

In early trade the technology blood-letting was led by SecureNet, down by A$2.65 (US$1.58); Kaz Computers, down A$2.00; Solution 6 down A$2.75; Sausage Software down A$1.80; and Open Telecommunications, down A$2.70 to A$6.90. Last week, Open Telecommunications fell 29.7 percent alone.

Also down were media stocks led by News Corp, down A$2.75 to A$17.85, and Kerry Packer's PBL, down A$1.20 to A$11.80. News Corp. shares were not helped by news released on the weekend that News' chairman and CEO, Rupert Murdoch, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

However, media and tech stocks were not the only sectors to suffer as losses were across the board. The ASX200 fell more than 5 percent, while its high-flying counterpart, the ASX20, also dropped 101.6 points or 5.28 percent.

Amid the bedlam, local IT recruitment consultancy company HiTech Personnel listed on the ASX this morning. The company saw its shares, issued at 70 cents, fall to 58 cents within 15 minutes of listing. The company raised A$3,745,000 through its IPO.

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More about HiTechHiTech PersonnelKaz ComputersNewsOpen TelecommunicationsSausage SoftwareSecureNetSolution 6Wall Street

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