The corporate regulator has suspended the financial services licence of the Australian arm of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and the Australian market ended lower on concerns about an escalation of the war in Ukraine after two people were killed in an explosion in eastern Poland.
FTX Australia and FX Express called in KordaMentha as administrators on Friday after parent FTX went into bankruptcy protection in the US, causing chaos in crypto markets.
The companies operate a digital currency exchange that is not regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
ASIC suspended FTX Australia's licence until May next year, although it can provide limited financial services that relate to the termination of existing derivative contracts with clients until mid-December.
"ASIC is monitoring this situation closely and speaking regularly with international regulators and the external administrators", the regulator said in a statement.
FTX was once worth $US32 billion ($40 billion) but imploded after traders withdrew billions of dollars from the cryptocurrency exchange and rival Binance abandoned a rescue bid.
Deliveroo goes under
Online food delivery service Deliveroo said it has ceased operations in Australia and has appointed KordaMentha as administrators after its UK parent withdrew financial support.
Deliveroo told customers that it was doing business in "challenging economic conditions" which required the firm to take difficult decisions.
"In Australia, we have concluded that achieving a sustainable position of leadership in the market is not possible without a disproportionate level of investment which would have highly uncertain returns," the company said.
Customers can no longer place orders on Deliveroo.
Deliveroo launched in 2015 in Melbourne and has recently expanded into grocery and liquor delivery.
It has more than 12,000 partner restaurants, 15,000 riders, and employs approximately 120 staff.
ASX shaken by geopolitical tensions
Australian shares ended in the red after the deaths of two people in Poland in an explosion from a "Russian-made missile" raised fears of an escalation of the war in Ukraine.
The All Ordinaries pared its losses to close down 0.25 per cent, to 7,327, while the ASX 200 lost 0.3 per cent, to 7,122.
Energy and miners made gains, but most sectors lost ground, led down by utilities, consumer firms, and financials.
All the big banks finished in the red.
Miners BHP (+ 1.2 per cent) and Rio Tinto (+1.7 per cent) climbed as a rescue package for the property sector in China boosted iron ore prices.
The Australian dollar rose by more than 1 per cent overnight and was trading around 67.65 US cents in morning trade.
It came off its lows during the day and was buying around 67.59 US cents at 4:30pm AEDT.
Nufarm and Graincorp profits
Going up on the ASX 200 was pesticides company Nufarm (+8.9 per cent) after it said net profit for 2022 rose by two thirds to $107 million, and predicted a rosy future because of increasing demand for food as the global population increases.
Grain handler Graincorp (-2 per cent) saw annual profit more than double to a record $380 million as demand for Australian grain soared globally despite disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine and COVID-19.
Investors get a final dividend of 30 cents a share, boosted by a special dividend.
However, Graincorp shares fell as it said the floods and heavy rainfall on the east coast had delayed harvest by several weeks, and are expected to affect crop production and quality.
Poker machines maker Aristocrat Leisure slumped 5 per cent, despite seeing annual net profit rise by 16 per cent to nearly $949 million, after it said that its mobile gaming platform, Pixel United, may see lower growth in bookings and profit in 2023.
Biotech Imugene (-9.5 per cent) was the worst performer in the ASX 200.
Payments firm Sezzle jumped 15 per cent after it narrowed its net losses in October and income increased.
KMD Brands (+4.2 per cent), the owner of adventure wear brands Kathmandu and Rip Curl, said first-quarter sales rose by nearly two-thirds over the first quarter of the year, reflecting the removal of COVID-19 lockdowns and a return to normal trading.
Medibank AGM
The costs do not include compensation for customers, regulatory or other litigation costs.
The board was grilled by investors at its annual general meeting in Melbourne, after Russian hackers stole the personal information of 9.7 million current and former customers.
The hackers have released some customer information on the dark web after Medibank refused to pay a ransom.
Medibank chief executive David Koczkar told shareholders at the AGM that the insurer had not detected any further suspicious activity since October 12, after it was hacked.
"Today we will begin communicating with around 480,000 customers whose health data we believe has been stolen," he said.
"We commenced this as soon as this data was verified by our team."
Data stolen and posted online includes details of treatment for drug and alcohol addiction, mental illness, and pregnancy termination.
Medibank is facing at least two class action lawsuits.
Despite the data hack, investors backed the company's executive pay plans with nearly 94 per cent of votes cast in support.
Medibank shares lost their gains and fell 0.4 per cent.
Wall Street rises
US stocks climbed on more signs of slowing inflation in North America, but pared gains after news of the Russian missile attacks on Ukraine.
The Euro extended its losses against the US dollar on the news.
Earlier the US market was boosted after economic data showed that inflation in North America was continuing to ease, raising hopes that the US central bank would cool the pace of interest rate rises.
The producer price index for final demand increased 0.2 per cent in October, and by 8 per cent over the year, which was less than expected.
Producer prices are a measure of business inflation and reflect the prices paid to producers.
Consumer inflation has also pulled back in the US and is running at an annual rate of 7.7 per cent because of the Federal Reserve's steep rate hikes.
That news drove a big rally last week.
An earnings report from retail giant Walmart also boosted sentiment overnight.
The retailer raised its annual sales and profit forecasts thanks to demand for groceries despite higher prices.
It announced a $US20 billion ($29.5 billion) share buyback plan which saw its shares rise 7.5 per cent.
The major indices came off their highs in a volatile session.
The Dow Jones index rose 0.2 per cent, to 33,593, the S&P 500 put on 0.9 per cent to 3,992, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5 per cent, to 11,358.
Wall Street fell for the third day in the last four trading sessions.
European markets
The softer-than-expected inflation numbers in the US also boosted confidence in Europe.
Other figures showed that the Eurozone economy expanded by 0.2 per cent from the previous quarter from July to September.
Gross domestic product came in at 2.1 per cent over the year.
However, the European Commission expected the economy to shrink this quarter and into next year because of the energy crisis and rising interest rates.
The FTSE 100 fell 0.2 per cent, to 7,369, the DAX in Germany rose 0.5 per cent, to 14,379, and the CAC 40 in Paris put on 0.5 per cent, as well to 6,642.
Brent crude rose more than 1 per cent, to above $US94 a barrel on news that oil supply to Hungary via the Druzhba oil pipeline was temporarily suspended because of a fall in pressure.
Spot gold gained 0.4 per cent, to $US1,779 an ounce.
ABC/Reuters
