Banks bumble: Aus shares fall 0.21% at noon

Market Reports

by Carolyn Herbert

Following weak leads from Wall Street thanks to a slip in the healthcare space, the Australian share market has followed suit, plunging at the open but clawing its way back to track 0.21 per cent lower at noon. The financials space namely the big four banks are proving to be the biggest drag on the market followed by losses in the REITs space.

The S&P/ASX 200 index is 12 points down at 5,530. On the futures market the SPI is 9 points lower.

Company news

Coca Cola Amatil Limited (ASX:CCL) has posted a half-year net profit of $198.2 million, an increase on last half’s figure of $183.9 million. HY revenue was also higher than the previous corresponding period’s number, coming in at $2.52 billion. The soft-drink giant has declared an interim dividend of 21 cents. Shares in Coca Cola Amatil are trading down 4.69 per cent at $9.14.

Super Retail Group (ASX:SUL) has reported a 22.6 per cent fall in net profit to $62.8 million for FY16. The company which is known for its chain of sporting stores, says it took $5 million in restructuring costs to address key loss making contracts and to make the business more profitable in FY17. A final dividend of 21.5 cents per share was declared. Shares in Super Retail Group are trading up 2.91 per cent at $10.10.

Best and worst performers

The best performing sector is Telcos, gaining 0.9 per cent to 1,967. Shares in Vocus Communications have risen 1.04 per cent and trading at $8.26. Shares in Telstra and Spark NZ are also stronger.

The worst performing sector is REITs, falling 1.3 per cent to 1,506. Shares in BWP Trust have fallen 9.69 per cent, trading at $3.21. Shares in Mirvac and Charter Hall are also lower.

IPOs

Frontier Digital Ventures Limited (ASX:FDV) started trading today. The developer of online classified businesses floated with an issue price of $0.50, opened at $0.55 and is currently trading at $0.55.

Gold and the dollar

Gold is trading at $US1,323 an ounce.
The Australian dollar is buying $US0.7629.



 

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