S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) erased most of yesterday’s gains with losses across the board, closing down 37 points or 0.6% to 6,338.
Banks, energy, telco and mining stocks were the biggest weights on the market.
Hard to sustain a 99 cent dividend
The National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) today cut its dividend to its lowest in almost nine years after posting a 7.1% rise in first-half cash profit to $2.95 billion, sending its shares down 0.3% to $25.70
The lender’s interim dividend has been slashed by 16% to 83 cents as interim CEO Philip Chronican conceded it had become harder and harder to sustain a 99 cent dividend.
AMP Ltd (ASX:AMP) shares dropped 2.6% to $2.25 after the wealth manager announced it had experienced net cash outflows of $1.8 billion in the first quarter.
Kidman surges
Shares in lithium developer Kidman Resources (ASX:KDR) surged 45% to $1.87 after its board backed a takeover offer from Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) of $1.90 cash per share.
The bid represents a premium of 47.3% to Kidman’s closing price yesterday of $1.29.