Market Wrap: Oil shares crash as S&P/ASX 200 falls

The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) continued lower today, falling 0.7%, as Santos Ltd (ASX:STO), Sundance Energy Australia Ltd (ASX:SEA) and Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX:MFG) weighed on markets.

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The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) resumed its 2016 descent today, falling 0.7%.

Here's a quick recap:

  • S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) down 0.7%
  • ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) down 0.8%
  • AUD/USD at US 69.07 cents
  • Iron Ore at US$40.20 according to The Metal Bulletin
  • Gold at US$1,092.03 an ounce
  • Brent oil at US$28.25 a barrel

The local sharemarket got off to a slow start, falling hard after losses on international markets on Friday, but recovered slightly before the close of trade. Plunging oil prices saw energy shares hit hard.

The S&P/ASX 200 Energy (Index: ^XEJ) (ASX: XEJ) index fell 3.5% today and is down 12.1% for the year so far. Leading the charge lower were shares of Santos Ltd (ASX: STO), Sundance Energy Australia Ltd (ASX: SEA) and Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) – falling 16%, 8.5% and 5%, respectively.

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) and Henderson Group plc (ASX: HGG) fell 6.2% and 4.75%, respectively.

Among the ASX's gainers were Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS) (up 7.6%), Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) (up 4.6%) and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) (up 2%). The catalyst behind the jump in their share prices was the announcement by Woolworths to sell its Home Improvement business.

The share prices of Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and UGL Limited (ASX: UGL) rose 6.5% and 5%, respectively.

Here are Monday's top stories:

Motley Fool writer/analyst Owen Raszkiewicz has a financial interest in Woolworths. Owen welcomes your feedback on Google plus (see below), LinkedIn or you can follow him on Twitter @ASXinvest. Unless otherwise noted, the author does not have a position in any stocks mentioned by the author in the comments below. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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