Australian Shares Flat; James Hardie Industries Sees Lower Fiscal Q2 Preliminary Earnings, Higher Net Sales

Australian shares were flat with a negative bias at Wednesday’s close, tracking Wall Street markets, after US President Trump threatened to block payback for certain federal workers after the government reopens.

The S&P/ASX 200 was little changed to close at 8,947.6.

The White House Office said in a memo that furloughed workers are not guaranteed pay during the shutdown, as the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 is deficient, Bloomberg reported.

“With no resolution to the government shutdown in sight, sentiment in financial markets deteriorated,” said Mantas Vanagas, Senior Economist at Westpac Banking (ASX:WBC, NZE:WBC).

On the domestic front, seasonally adjusted data revealed that the total number of dwellings approved in Australia fell by 6% to 14,744 in August from 15,684 in July, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.

In company news, James Hardie Industries (ASX:JHX) said it expects preliminary fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.26 to $0.27 per diluted share, down from the actual result of $0.36 a year earlier. Shares of the company rose 10% at market close.

Apiam Animal Health (ASX:AHX) extended the exclusivity period granted to Adamantem Capital Management for the private capital firm to acquire the company through a scheme of arrangement for AU$0.88 cash apiece. Shares of the company rose 7% at market close and earlier hit a 52-week high.

Lastly, Cybercriminal group Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters, who claimed responsibility for the recent Qantas Airways (ASX:QAN) cyber attack, is threatening to release customer data on the dark web on Friday unless a ransom is paid, multiple media outlets reported.