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However, “there appear to be some (very early) green shoots,” Jarden analyst Ben Gilbert wrote in a note to clients, pointing to the supermarket’s October food sales of 3.2 per cent. If the September quarter “proves to be the trough and October to-date trends continue, the stock should do well.” Pressure is rising on the Woolies CEO, who will face shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday, just as arch rival Coles will report its quarterly sales. Coles has been gaining market share on Woolworths. Coles dropped 0.6 per cent. Oil and gas giants Woodside and Santos fell for a second session as oil declined further amid mounting signs of oversupply, which quelled a bumper rally triggered by US sanctions on key Russian producers last week. West Texas Intermediate fell 1.9 per cent to again settle close to $US60 a barrel, the steepest daily drop in more than two weeks. Woodside was down 1.4 per cent and Santos shed 1.3 per cent in early trade. CSL also continued its slide, losing a further 3.8 per cent. The nation’s biggest health company slumped 15.9 per cent on Tuesday after vaccine scepticism led to a plunge in influenza vaccinations in the US, a key market, forcing it to issue a profit warning for its Seqirus vaccine business and delaying the unit’s planned spin-off into a separate company. Building products maker James Hardie shed 1.2 per cent after US homebuilder D.R. Horton reported weaker profit for the Northern hemisphere summer than expected amid cautious consumer sentiment. James Hardie makes about three quarters of its sales in the US.
