Following weak leads from Wall Street the local share market struggled for direction today and ended up closing the session 0.57 per cent lower. The big banks proved to be the biggest drag on the market with losses across the board. Gains in the healthcare space weren’t enough to bring the index back into the black.
Today, the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 30 points lower to finish at 5,329.
Over the week the index gained 37 points.
The value of trades was $5 billion on volume of 754 million shares at the close of trade. The top three stocks by value were Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX:CBA), National Australia Bank Limited
(ASX:NAB) and Westpac Banking Corporation
(ASX:WBC).
On the futures market the SPI is down 43 points.
Looking at Wall Street, US major indexes were mixed over the four trading days this week: The Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost 0.1 per cent. The S&P 500 Index has gained 0.3 per cent. The NASDAQ was flat. The 100 Index has gained 0.3 per cent.
Company news
SKYCITY Entertainment Group
(ASX:SKC) has announced it has completed the institutional entitlement offer component of its fully underwritten 1 for 10 rights offer.
Admedus Limited
(ASX:AHZ) has announced it has been awarded Manufacturer of the Year at the 2016 Manufacturers’ Monthly Endeavour Awards.
Best and worst performers
The best performing sector was Utilities adding 1 per cent to close at 7,302. The worst performing sector was Staples, losing 1.5 per cent to close at 8,689 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was APN News and Media, rising 15.7 per cent to close at $0.70. Shares in Aristocrat Leisure and Mineral Resources also closed higher.
The worst performing stock was Iluka Resources, dropping 5.65 per cent to close at $5.84. Shares in Liquefied Natural Gas and Bluescope also closed lower.
Commodities and the dollar
The price of gold is trading at $US1,274 an ounce, and is down $19.13 over the week.
Light crude is $0.43 higher at $US47.19 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying $0.7294 and is down 0.75 of a cent over the week.
