the COB: M&A moves

The S&P/ASX 200 opened the new financial year lower, down 0.64% to 8,722.90 points on Wednesday. A rebound in commodity prices supported miners like BHP, but it was not enough to offset weakness in the consumer space and banks. The Commonwealth Bank fell 2.4% over the session. REITs were also under pressure amid weaker house prices and lower building approvals. In consumer staples, Coles took a 6% hit after the ACCC blocked its planned acquisition of a shopping site in Kalgoorlie. At the same time, the AFR reported the supermarket group could acquire pet-care business Greencross for around $4 billion. On the upside, fund managers were stronger. Magellan gained 11% after completing its merger with Barrenjoey, while Perpetual surged 16.9% before being placed into a trading halt on takeover talks. South32 also surged 10.2% after agreeing to sell its aluminium value chain assets to Alcoa in a deal worth up to US$5.6 billion, as it shifts focus further toward copper. Overnight, attention turns to the ECB Forum on Central Banking, where central bank chiefs from Canada, the EU, the UK and the US are speaking.