The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fell 1.9% to 7,370 points. It was one of the worst days for the ASX 200 in 2021.
Here are some of the highlights from the ASX:
BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)
The share prices of both BHP and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) fell today, down 1.7% and 2.5% respectively. They were two of the biggest detractors for the ASX 200. The CBA share price also dropped 2.3%.
China continues to tell its steel-making regions to reduce the amount of steel production. This may be good for reducing emissions, but it is also is impacting the iron ore price and hurting investor sentiment about BHP and Rio Tinto.
In percentage terms, they weren't among the worst performers though. Two of the worst declines were the Virgin Money UK (ASX: VUK) share price falling by 7.9% and the Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE) share price dropping by 6.3%.
Doctor Care Anywhere Group PLC (ASX: DOC)
The market reaction was initially positive for the Doctor Care Anywhere share price after announcing an acquisition. However, it ended down 2%.
The UK-based telehealth business is buying GP2U Telehealth for a total of $11 million. It's an Australian business, operating through both GP2U and Psych2U. The acquisition price represents 2.5x FY21 gross revenue.
GP2U Telehealth provides virtual GP services under the brand GP2U and tele-mental services under the brand Psych2U.
Psych2U actually represents 78% of the total revenue, with income streams coming from a mixed billing service, including a channel partnership with HCF, Australia's largest not-for-profit health insurer.
The GP2U Telehealth business grew gross revenue by 54.8% in FY21.
Doctor Care Anywhere said that the acquisition provides the platform to build a market leading telehealth business in Australia in partnership with other Australian stakeholders. It sees "significant opportunities" to grow the business here.
The CEO of Doctor Care Anywhere, Dr Bayju Thakar, said:
This acquisition represents another important milestone for Doctor Care Anywhere, giving us a platform on which to build our presence in the Australian market and further expand our international business. It will give GP2U the support it needs to make a real difference in helping patients, particularly those in rural and remote regions, access high quality virtual GP care and, in-particular, support existing GP practices in the provision of tele-mental health.
RPMGlobal Holdings Ltd (ASX: RUL)
The RPMGlobal share price fell around 1% today after the tech business gave a software update.
It gave an update about both its IMAFS inventory optimisation and Shift Manager short-term planning solutions being made available in the cloud.
The business said the transition of IMAFS from a hosted solution in the cloud to a full software as a service (SaaS) model will provide users with greater flexibility in security and authentication and facilitates the ability for customers to continuously optimise their inventory management processes.
Shift Manager's change to the cloud will allow users to collaborate and communicate through a single, integrated plan.
RPMGlobal CEO Richard Mathews said:
Cloud adoption will help the mining industry unlock additional productivity and sustainability improvements. Cloud applications facilitate remote collaboration and the scalability that mining organisations require while creating robust data storage solutions that are more cost-efficient when compared to outdated hardware.
