It has been a rollercoaster week for markets around the world and our local share market has been no exception. However, we have managed to finish the trading week on a positive note, closing the day 1.07 per cent higher. The Materials and Energy sectors were the star performers, with big gains in stocks like BHP, Santos and Oil Search. It was a bit of a mixed day for the financials space though, with CBA losing ground, but NAB, ANZ and Westpac moving slightly higher.
Today, the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 52 points higher to finish at 4,916. Over the week the index gained 23 points.
The value of trades was $4.7 billion on volume of 769 million shares at the close of trade. The top three stocks by value were Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX:CBA), BHP Billiton Limited
(ASX:BHP) and ANZ Banking Group
(ASX:ANZ).
On the futures market the SPI is 49 points higher.
US markets
Looking at Wall Street, US major indexes have traded mixed over the three trading days this week: The Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped 0.7 per cent. The S&P 500 Index has slipped 0.6 per cent. The NASDAQ has lost 0.4 per cent. The 100 Index added 0.04 per cent.
Company news Santos Limited
(ASX:STO) has announced that it has maintained its S&P investment grade credit rating. However the ratings agency has downgraded the company’s unsecured credit rating from BBB to BBB-. Shares in Santos closed 10.94 per cent higher at $2.84.
NewZulu Limited
(ASX:NWZ) has announced it has extended its strategic partnership agreement with AFP, the third largest global news agency with headquarters in Paris, and 200 offices in 150 countries. The company says the agreement will deliver a substantial increase in revenues for NewZulu’s contributors and for its broader editorial business. Shares in NewZulu Limited closed 8.57 per cent higher at $0.038.
Lucapa Diamond Company Limited
(ASX:LOM) says they have recovered a 133 carat diamond from the Lulo Diamond project in Angola, their largest diamond to date.
Resmed Inc.
(ASX:RMD) says second quarter results have seen a 13 per cent increase in revenue on a constant currency basis.
Best and worst performers
The best performing sector was Energy adding 3.8 per cent to close at 6,997. The sector with the least gains was REITs, adding 0.2 per cent to close at 1,281 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Treasury Wines, rising 17.47 per cent to close at $9.28. Shares in Medibank Private and Santos also closed higher.
The worst performing stock was Incitec Pivot, dropping 8.63 per cent to close at $3.07. Shares in Select Harvests and Whitehaven Coal also closed lower.
Commodities and the dollar
The price of gold is trading at $US1,099 an ounce, and is up $7.94 over the week.
Light crude is $1.18 higher at US$29.53 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying US$0.7013 and is up 1.4 cents over the week.
