AGEM Index falls 6.1% in September
Eight of nine tracked suppliers lost ground, ending five months of growth.
Asia.- The AGEM Index fell 6.1 per cent in September, ending a five-month run of gains for the global gaming equipment supplier sector. The index fell by 118.24 points to close at 1,811.01, a 5.9 per cent decline year-on-year and the index’s first month-on-month contraction since March.
The decline saw eight of the nine companies tracked by the index lose value in what was generally weaker month for major US stock markets. Australian equipment maker Aristocrat Leisure Limited was the single largest drag on the performance, with a 2.3 per cent share price drop shaving 46.60 points off the index due to its heavy market weight.
Meanwhile, Light & Wonder saw the steepest percentage drop, with its 16.8 per cent fall pulling the index down by 39.12 points. Market analysts attribute the sharp fall in Light & Wonder’s valuation to corporate leadership changes, specifically the recent announcement that the CEO of its social-casino division, SciPlay, will step down at the end of October.
The downturn in the gaming supply sector aligned with weakness across financial markets in September. Two of the three main US stock benchmarks closed lower for the month: the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.3 per cent and the S&P 500 dipped 0.5 per cent. The NASDAQ saw a modest gain of 1.9 per cent.
