It has been a dismal start to this Friday trading session for the Australian share market. Following weak leads from Wall Street the local bourse plunged at the open, but has managed to claw back some of its losses and is now tracking 0.65 per cent lower at noon. The financials space is proving to be the biggest drag on the market so far with all of the big four banks in negative territory. The energy space is the best performer after the price of oil made a substantial jump overnight.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 35 points down at 5,351. On the futures market the SPI is 18 points lower.
Company newsYPB Group Limited (ASX:YPB ) has signed a three year agreement with a leading Indonesian pharmaceutical and wellness company Combiphar for the supply of Brand Protection Solutions in Asia. The brand protection company expects the three year agreement to generate revenues of $1 million, with YPB’s technology to be applied to tens of millions of Combiphar products per annum. Shares in YPB Group are trading up 2.78 per cent at $0.18.
Strike Energy Limited
(ASX:STX) has announced that David Baker, Strike’s Executive Director has been appointed to the board to succeed David Wrench a Strike’s Managing Director. The company says that David was instrumental in negotiating a series of innovative gas offtake agreements which have amounted around $17 million in funding for the appraisal and pilot production testing of the Southern Cooper Basin Gas project. Shares in Strike Energy are trading down 4.76 per cent at $0.10.
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector is Energy, gaining 1.49 per cent to 8,303. Shares in Origin Energy have risen 5.26 per cent and trading at $5.40. Shares in Whitehaven Coal and Oil Search are also stronger.
The worst performing sector is REITS, falling 1.33 per cent to 1,424. Shares in Iron Mountain have fallen 3.41 per cent, trading at $49.54. Shares in Charter Hall and Stockland are also lower.
Gold and the dollarGold is trading at $US1,339 an ounce.
The Australian dollar is buying $US0.7648.
