Soft US Housing View Sends Australia’s Reece Tumbling Most Since 1978

Reece Ltd. shares plunged the most in almost five decades after the plumbing supplies company warned of weakness in the US housing market, joining a growing list of Australian firms sounding the alarm.

The stock sank as much as 22%, the most since June 1978, after the firm’s net income fell 24% to A$316.9 million ($205 million) in the year to June 30, missing analysts’ estimates. It also said it anticipates the US real estate market to be constrained for the next 12 to 18 months amid affordability challenges, according to an exchange statement Monday.