Telstra Slips, Traders Watch Next ASX Open
Telstra Group Limited heads into Thursday’s ASX pre-open facing heat after shares finished down 2.96% at A$4.92. A nationwide outage hit the company hard and put fresh scrutiny on Telstra’s reliability. The S&P/ASX 200 slipped just 0.21% to 8,785.1, letting Telstra underperform the wider market. ASX regular trading doesn't begin until 10 a.m. Sydney, so Telstra investors haven’t had a full chance to react to the company’s late-day statement, fallout from the emergency call issue, or any comment from regulators. That leaves the next open in focus. It’s now about more than just service coming back; the market needs to mark in whether Telstra, as a defensive stock, gets priced for higher operational risk.