Following positive leads from Wall Street, the Australian share market jumped at the open, but has since given back some of those gains and is tracking 0.46 per cent higher at noon. The big banks have made a comeback today and are doing the bulk of the heavy lifting along with the big miners BHP and Rio Tinto. Not such a great day for the telcos space with losses in Telstra and TPG Telecom.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 25 points up at 5,494. On the futures market the SPI is 25 points higher.
Company newsSurfStitch Group Limited
(ASX:SRF) has been heavily sold off losing around half of its market cap following the release of its FY16 results. The surfing merchandiser told the market it had booked a non-cash impairment of $99.3 million and was very disappointed with its results. The company also reported a net loss of $154.7 million. Shares in SurfStitch Group Limited are trading down 46.74 per cent at $0.12.
Macquarie Atlas Roads Limited
(ASX:MQA) has reported an increase in half-year profit to $54.2 million compared to $40.3 million in the previous corresponding period. Proportionate revenue increased 6 per cent to $378 million reflecting a combination of higher traffic levels and revised toll schedules. Full year distribution came in at 18 cents per share, up 12.5 per cent from 2015. Shares in Macquarie Atlas Roads are trading up 1.37 per cent at $5.90.
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector is Healthcare, gaining 1.18 per cent to 22,201. Shares in Ramsay Healthcare have risen 4.57 per cent and trading at $79.01. Shares in Healthscope and Virtus Health are also stronger.
The worst performing sector is Telcos, falling 0.19 per cent to 1,964. Shares in Vocus Communications have fallen 1.54 per cent, trading at $7.67. Shares in Spark NZ and Telstra are also lower.
IPOsBerkut Minerals Limited
(ASX:BMT) started trading today. The Mineral Exploration company floated with an issue price of $0.20, opened at $0.23 and is currently trading at $0.245.
Gold and the dollarGold is trading at $US1,323 an ounce.
The Australian dollar is buying $US0.7565.
