The local share market has finished the week on a positive note after opening in the black and continuing that momentum throughout the session before closing 0.76 per cent higher. All sectors finished the day in positive territory, but it was the energy space that lead the charge with Santos and LNG adding 4 and 7 per cent respectively. The healthcare space also performed well for a third straight session, with further gains across the board, in particular in Sonic Health and CSL.
Today, the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 40 points higher to finish at 5,319. Over the week the index lost 87 points.
The value of trades was $4.3 billion on volume of 634 million shares at the close of trade. The top three stocks by value were ANZ Banking Group
(ASX:ANZ), National Australia Bank Limited
(ASX:NAB) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX:CBA).
On the futures market the SPI is 45 points higher.
US markets
Looking at Wall Street, US major indexes were mixed over the three trading days this week: The Dow Jones Industrial Average has added 0.29 per cent. The S&P 500 Index has added 0.39 per cent. The NASDAQ has gained 0.47 per cent. The 100 Index has lost 2.79 per cent.
Company news Mirvac Group Limited
(ASX:MGR) has announced it has received a Baa1 long-term issuer rating from Moody’s Investor Service, with a stable outlook. This is the first time Moody’s has assigned a rating to Mirvac. The company says the rating reflects the quality of the Group’s high-performing investment portfolio, in addition to its strong balance sheet and financial metrics. Shares in Mirvac closed 0.78 per cent higher at $1.95.
Alacer Gold Corporation
(ASX:AQG) has announced it has appointed Stewart Beckman as the company’s new Chief Operating Officer.
Tassal Group Limited
(ASX:TGR) has announced its fish processing facility at Margate will now supply fresh Salmon to Woolworths supermarkets in Queensland and New South Wales.
Best and worst performers
The best performing sector was Energy adding 1.15 per cent to close at 8,160. The sector with the least losses was Utilities, adding 0.46 per cent to close at 7,169 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was LNG, rising 7.83 per cent to close at $0.62. Shares in Genworth and Australian Agriculture also closed higher.
The worst performing stock was OzForex, dropping 5.73 per cent to close at $2.14. Shares in IPH and Iluka Resources also closed lower.
Commodities and the dollar
The price of gold is trading at $US1,212 an ounce, and is down $2.13 over the week.
Light crude is $0.16 higher at $US49.17 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying $0.7245 and is up by 0.6 of a cent over the week.
