After spending the session in positive territory, the local share market ran out of puff at the end of the trading day and ended up closing the day flat or 0.02 per cent lower. The big four banks once again proved to be the biggest drag on the index with losses across the board; CBA now trading below the $72 handle. Also a sea of red for the energy space after falls in the price of oil once again. The materials space managed to recoup back some of yesterday’s losses, but it was gold stocks that were the best performers after the price of the precious metal jumped to over US$1300 an ounce.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 1 point down to finish at 5,146.
The value of trades was $6.3 billion on volume of 983 million shares at the close of trade. The top three stocks by value were Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX:CBA), Westpac Banking Corporation
(ASX:WBC) and National Australia Bank Limited
(ASX:NAB).
On the futures market the SPI is up 33 points.
Economic news
Unemployment has remained steady for the month of May at 5.7 per cent, according to latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Economists polled by Reuters expected the addition of 15,000 jobs when 17,900 jobs were in fact added.
Company news Medibank Private
(ASX:MPL) says it refutes claims by the ACCC relating to activities that took place back in 2014. The ACCC has accused the company of misleading customers, by not informing them of a decision to limit benefits for in-hospital pathology and radiology services. Medibank Private says it takes its obligations under the Australian Consumer Law seriously and is working cooperatively with the ACCC throughout its investigation. Shares in Medibank Private closed 5.52 per cent lower at $2.91.
Suncorp Group
(ASX:SUN) has received around 8,000 insurance claims as a result of the severe storms which affected Australia’s east coast last week.
Air New Zealand Ltd
(ASX:AIZ) has released its latest monthly market conditions figures. For the financial year to date, Group-wide yields were down 1.6% compared to the same period last year.
MedAdvisor Limited’s
(ASX:MDR) service agreement with global pharmaceuticals giant, GlaxoSmithKline Australia Pty Ltd, has been extended by another 12 months.
Best and worst performers
The best performing sector was Consumer Discretionaries adding 1.5 per cent to close at 2,048. The worst performing sector was Energy, losing 1 per cent to close at 7,967 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Crown Resorts, rising 13.23 per cent to close at $12.75. Shares in Northern Star and Evolution Mining also closed higher.
The worst performing stock was Mesoblast, dropping 8.84 per cent to close at $1.14. Shares in Mineral Resources and Medibank Private also closed lower.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,308 an ounce.
Light crude is $0.52 lower at $US47.98 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying $US0.7389.
