Market watch: Biotechs take battering as markets lurch
Monday, 08 August, 2011
Sovereign debt concerns have sent markets worldwide into a funk, with Australian biotechs caught in the crossfire.
The All Ordinaries fell sharply in morning trading, following on from a steep drop last Friday. After a minor rally as bargain hunters moved in, the All Ords sits at 4,091.6 as of 2.30pm this afternoon, down 1.87% from its open.
Biotechs have also felt the pinch, chief among them QRxPharma (ASX:QRX), which has continued its week-long slip, dropping to $1.32 today, down 6.8%
Sydney-based Pharmaxis (ASX:PXS) also took a hit, dropping to $1.01, down 7c or 6.45%, as well as Prima BioMed (ASX:PRR), which shed 1c to 17.5c.
Mesoblast (ASX:MSB), which has been in the news of late because of its soaring share price over the last six months, dropped by over 5% to $8.02.
Sirtex (ASX:SRX), makers of SIR-Spheres, also shaved 23c off its share price to $5.14, down 4.28%.
Even the Big Three weren’t spared, with CSL (ASX:CSL) losing 78c to $27.61; ResMed (ASX:RMD) dropping 4c to $2.64; and Cochlear down by 84c to $66.02.
Market analysts are conflicted about what the present global situation implies for the Australian economy, which is less affected by sovereign debt woes.
Common arthritis drug also lowers blood pressure
Scientists have known for a while that methotrexate helps with inflammation, but it may also help...
AI enables precise gene editing
A newly developed tool utilises AI to predict how cells repair their DNA after it is cut by gene...
Shingles vaccine may reduce risk of heart attack and stroke
Vaccination with either the recombinant herpes zoster vaccine or the live-attenuated zoster...
