ASX slumps in a sea of red, ANZ drops

The Australian sharemarket has opened lower in a sea of red after a mixed Wall Street session on Friday, weighed down by healthcare stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 58.1 points, or 0.7 per cent, as of 10.15am AEST on Friday, extending last week's losses when it posted its biggest weekly drop since March.
All 11 sectors opened in the red. Even so, analysts are optimistic about the outlook.
"Equities everywhere remain around record highs. Gold is at all time highs too, as the US dollar dips slightly, all because of expected Fed rate cuts," said Capital.com market analyst Kyle Rodda.
The ASX 200 climbed to a record last month when it broke the 9,000 barrier for the first time.
On the ASX, health care took the brunt led by Pro Medicus, down 2.5 per cent. The major banks were mixed with Commonwealth Bank down 1 per cent but National Australia and Westpac ekking out small gains.
ANZ fell 0.3 per cent after coping a $240 million fine for widespread misconduct in its government bond trading practices and charging deceased customers.
The big miners fell with BHP down 0.4 per cent and Rio Tinto off 0.3 per cent. Fortescue lost 0.6 per cent.
Stocks on the move
Mining company Gold Road Resources fell 0.3 per cent after downwardly revising the output forecast of its joint venture, Gruyere due to equipment issues and lower-than-anticipated ore from the mine.
Grain handler GrainCorp rallied 0.9 per cent after Jefferies raised its price target thanks to higher crop forecast.
Tasmanian whisky maker Lark Distilling jumped 1.3 per cent on news it had appointed director Stuart Gregor as its new chief executive from January 1.
Lithium miner IGO rose 0.3 per cent following Citi's upgrade to "neutral" from "sell" by Citi after the shares dropped 19 per cent in the last month.
Baby formula maker Bubs Australia rallied 3.2 per cent after naming director Paul Jensen as its new chairman succeeding Katrina Rathie who stepped down on Friday.
HomeCo Daily Needs REIT advanced 0.5 per cent after Moelis downgraded it to "hold", but raised the price target from $1.36 to $1.44 following the company's earnings result.
Chorus, Enero, Guzman y Guzman, Kelsian, Lovisa, Pengana, Qube, and Ramelius are among the shares that trade ex-dividend on Monday.

Sumber : AFR