Despite weak leads from Wall Street on Friday, the Australian share market has rallied on new polls showing Hilary Clinton is firming as the favourite for the US Presidential election on Tuesday. The local bourse jumped higher at the open and has continued to gain momentum throughout the session, tracking 0.77 per cent higher in the first two hours of trade. The financials space is doing the bulk of the heavy lifting so far, with all of the big four banks making solid gains; Westpac is leading the charge up around 2.3 per cent. We’ve seen losses in the materials space, in particular the gold stocks after a decline in the price of the precious metal.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 39 points higher at 5,220. On the futures market the SPI is 48 points higher.
Company newsCaltex Australia Limited (ASX: CTX) has agreed to purchase Milemaker Petroleum’s retail fuel business assets in Victoria for $95 million. The transaction will see Caltex take over 46 service stations in Victoria, mainly located in and around Melbourne. The oil giant says the transaction will compliment Caltex’s existing business in Victoria and will provide an improved customer offering in the region. Shares in Caltex are trading up 0.23 per cent at $30.12.
Dexus Property Group
(ASX:DXS) has announced that is has settled on the sale on the initial 50 per cent tranche of the Southgate Complex in Melbourne. Sale proceeds will be initially used to repay debt and will progressively fund Dexus’s pipeline of development opportunities. Shares in Dexus Property Group are trading up 0.34 per cent at $8.97.
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector is Financials, gaining 1.5 per cent to 5,823. Shares in Westpac have risen 2.42 per cent and trading at $30.43. Shares in Henderson and Macquarie Group are also stronger.
The worst performing sector is Industrials, falling 0.08 per cent to 4,890 . Shares in Monadelphous have fallen 1.69 per cent, trading at $8.70. Shares in Brambles and Transurban are also lower.
IPOsDomaCom Limited
(ASX:DCL) started trading today. The investment management company floated with an issue price of $0.75, opened at $0.70 and is currently trading at $0.62. Inghams Group Limited
(ASX:ING) started trading today. The poultry producer floated with an issue price of $3.15, opened at $3.14 and is currently trading at $3.14.
Gold and the dollarGold is trading at $US1,292 an ounce.
The Australian dollar is buying $US0.7672.
