It was an up-and-down day for the Australian share market as it struggled for direction. At its peak, the local bourse rose 19 points to a session high of 5,670 points, before it plunged in and out of negative territory several times. It ultimately finished the day 13 points higher, with most sectors finishing in the black.
Mining stocks were the worst performers today, and out of the big four banks only two of them (NAB and Westpac) posted gains in their share prices.
At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 13 points (or 0.23%) higher to finish at 5,665.
The value of trades was $5 billion on volume of 774 million shares at the close of trade. The top three stocks by value were Commonwealth Bank
(ASX:CBA), BHP Billiton
(ASX:BHP) and AMP
(ASX:AMP).
On the futures market the SPI is 12 points higher.
Economic newsNAB released its December-quarter business survey today. NAB’s survey showed businesses are getting more cautious. For example, business sentiment fell by one point to a reading of +5. Also, it showed the current conditions index (which takes into account sales, employment conditions and profitability) dropped two points to +5. In addition, the business survey indicated that capital expenditure plans slid by two points to a reading of +22.
Company newsCIMIC Group’s
(ASX:CIM) mining services provider, Thiess, has secured contracts to provide mining solutions to coal mines in the South Kalimantan region of Indonesia. The contracts are worth $134 million, and Thiess’ services will be provided over a period of 15 months. Shares in CIMIC closed 0.44 per cent lower at $38.68.
Rio Tinto
(ASX:RIO) has released its full year results for the 2016 calendar year showing that its profit after tax for the year was $4.78 billion – a big improvement over the $1.72 billion loss it posted in 2015. The company says this was due to a strong recovery in commodity prices last year.
Multinational energy company, Chevron, has awarded Worleyparsons Ltd
(ASX:WOR) with a contract worth around US$67 million. Worleyparsons will provide engineering, procurement and construction management services at Chevron’s refinery in Utah.
The Victorian state government has given conditional planning approval for Crown Resorts Ltd
(ASX:CWN), and its joint venture partner, Schiavello Group, to develop Queensbridge Hotel Tower at Southbank. It will be 90 storeys high, with a height of 322 metres, making it Melbourne’s tallest building.
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector was Utilities adding 2.8 per cent to close at 8,200. The worst performing sector was Materials, losing 1.2 per cent to close at 10,033 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Isentia
(ASX:ISD), rising 7.14 per cent to close at $2.70. Shares in Vocus Communications
(ASX:VOC) and Aconex
(ASX:ACX) also closed higher.
The worst performing stock was CSR
(ASX:CSR), dropping 4.13 per cent to close at $4.18. Shares in Fortescue Metals
(ASX:FMG) and Credit Corp Group
(ASX:CCP) also closed lower.
CommoditiesGold is trading at $US1,241 an ounce.
Light crude is $0.97 higher at $US52.38 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying $US0.7628.
