Internet service provider Uniti Wireless listed on the ASX in February 2019 with an opening share price of $0.19 cents. Its shares opened today at $1.62.

This remarkable 16-month growth to reach a market capitalisation of $526 million has catapulted Uniti not only into the All Ordinaries list for the first time but also earned it a debut on the S&P/ASX 300 index.

Adelaide-based freight and passenger transport company Sealink Travel Group also earned a place in the index of the ASX’s largest 300 companies.

Best known for its Kangaroo Island and Sydney Harbour ferries, Sealink’s market capitalisation broke through the $1 billion mark earlier this month after a strong recovery in April and May.

Water trader Duxton Water Limited was added to the All Ordinaries, which lists the nation’s largest 500 publicly-listed companies.

3D aerial mapping company Aerometrex Limited listed on the ASX in December 2019 and has also been added to the All Ords.

The quarterly S&P Dow Jones indices adjustments were announced this morning and will take effect from the opening of the market on June 22.

But the rebalance wasn’t all good news for South Australian companies with a few firms slipping down the ranks.

Despite recovering almost all of its share price losses from the coronavirus downturn, Salisbury-based pharmaceutical company Mayne Pharma Group has lost its place on the ASX200 but remains on the ASX300.

The S&P/ASX 200 is designed to measure the performance of the 200 largest index-eligible stocks listed on the ASX by float-adjusted market capitalization.

Widely considered Australia’s pre-eminent benchmark index, the ASX200 now only contains six SA-based companies: Santos, Beach Energy, Oz Minerals, Cooper Energy, ADBRI (formerly Adelaide Brighton) and Elders.

Wine company Australian Vintage, which produces brands such as Nepenthe and McGuigan, lost its place on the All Ordinaries Index along with SA-based miner Terramin Australia.

Nationally, gaming machine manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure replaced packaging company Amcor PLC in the ASX20 while The A2 Milk Company took AMP’s spot in the ASX50.

Santos remains the only South Australian company in the ASX50.

However, it was a tough start to the day for Santos which, along with Beach and Woodside, had drops of more than 5 per cent in early trade after crude oil prices fell by about 8 per cent overnight.

Overall, shares fell about 2.5 per cent early on the Australian market as local investors pulled back following a slide on Wall Street on resurgent worries of virus infections in the US.

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark index was lower by 146.0 points, or 2.45 per cent, at 5814.6 points after the first 30 minutes of trade this morning.

The All Ordinaries index was 156.6 points, or 2.58 per cent lower, at 5922.9.

Financials slumped 3.89 per cent in early trade, information technology was down 2.94 per cent, and industrials slipped 2.41 per cent.

Westpac had the biggest slump of the big four banks, down 5.03 per cent to $17.57.

ANZ lost 4.52 per cent to $18.59, the Commonwealth Bank shed 3.16 per cent to $66.28 and NAB edged lower by 4.61 per cent to $18.19.

Big miners fared a little better. BHP fell 2.34 per cent to $35.90, Rio lost 1.99 per cent to $96.89 and Fortescue fell 3.02 per cent to $14.43.

In the US overnight, investors continued selling shares after the US Federal Reserve released its first pandemic-era economic outlook, with Chairman Jerome Powell warning of a “long road” to recovery.

Increasing COVID-19 infection numbers also had investors worried with a new analysis found that in 21 of the 50 US states, the rolling seven-day average of new cases per capita was higher than in the seven days earlier.

All three major US stock indexes lost well over 5 per cent, posting their worst one-day percentage drops since March 16, when markets were sent into freefall by the abrupt economic lockdowns.

The Australian dollar was buying 68.19 US cents at 11am. That was sharply lower from 69.27 US cents at the close of trade on Thursday amid rising risk aversion among investors.

 – with AAP

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