The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) reversed the morning gains to finish down by 2% on Tuesday in a negative start to the week.
Some of the shares responsible for the reversed fortunes of the ASX were the large miners. For example, the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price finished 4% lower and the Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price finished down by 3.4%.
Here are some of the highlights of today:
Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (ASX: VAH) asks for support
Australia's second largest airline has asked for government support to get through this period.
The share price of Virgin Australia went up 18.75% after confirming reporting by media today that it asked for $1.4 billion of support from the Australian government.
Virgin Australia said that whilst it is taking a number of measures to respond and manage the impact, support will be necessary for the industry if the crisis continues "indefinitely".
It is believed the government wants to make sure there are at least two airlines in Australia after this period.
Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) divests another Coles Group Limited (ASX: COL) stake
Retail giant Wesfarmers is using the strength of the supermarket's performance and share price to sell another stake of Coles.
This time it has sold a 5.2% stake for $15.39 per share and Wesfarmers expects to recognise a pre-tax profit on sale of around $130 million. Wesfarmers will keep the rest of its stake for at least 60 days.
The Wesfarmers share price finished down by 4.5% and the Coles share price finished down by almost 10%.
National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) reduces financial advice licence fees to $0
The major ASX bank has decided to waive 100% of its licence fees paid by aligned financial planning firms at a cost of $19 million revenue between April to June 2020 according to reporting for the Australian Financial Review.
NAB wants to make sure that its network of financial advisers is supported during this period.
In the September 2020 quarter NAB will only charge 50% of the licence fees.
More strong movements
Looking at the green end of the ASX:
The Credit Corp Group Limited (ASX: CCP) share price went up 25.5%.
The EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) share price finished up 23.3%. It was up above $3 at one point.
The share price of G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) rose by 19.3%.
At the red end:
The share price of Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) dropped 12.4%.
The Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ) share price fell by 12.4%.
The Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX: URW) share price dropped 12%.
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Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Emerchants Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of National Australia Bank Limited and Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Emerchants Limited. 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 Scott Phillips.
