It has been a disappointing start to the week for the Australian share market, plunging into the red in the first two hours of trade and tracking 0.4 per cent lower at noon. While most sectors are in negative territory, Industrials are proving to be the biggest drag on the market, followed by the Energy sector. REITs and Telcos are bucking the trend but only just, with small gains in the likes of Vocus Communications
(ASX:VOC) and Telstra
(ASX:TLS).
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 23 points down at 5,783. On the futures market the SPI is 21 points lower.
Company newsBeach Energy Limited
(ASX:BPT) has turned around its fortunes, reversing its losses of last year and swinging into profitability for the 1H of 2017, reporting a NPAT of $103 million. The oil and gas company’s net cash position has jumped more than 200 per cent to $148 million and sales revenue is up 27 per cent to $344 million. Shares in Beach Energy are trading up 1.08 per cent at $0.70.
WorleyParsons Limited
(ASX:WOR) has announced a statutory net loss of $2.4 million for H1 of 2017. The Australian engineering firm says underlying net profit came in at $57.1 million, down 22.7 per cent from the previous corresponding period. Aggregated revenue also declined just over 30 per cent to $2.17 billion, in line with overall market contraction. Shares in WorleyParsons are trading down 12.78 per cent at $8.60.
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector is REITs, gaining 0.2 per cent to 1,378. Shares in Iron Mountain
(ASX:INM) have risen 1.24 per cent and trading at $48.27. Shares in Charter Hall
(ASX:CHC) and Abacus Property (AXS:ABP) are also stronger.
The worst performing sector is Industrials, falling 2.2 per cent to 5,056. Shares in Brambles
(ASX:BXB) have fallen 9.47 per cent, trading at $9.52. Shares in GWA Group
(ASX:GWA) and ALS Group
(ASX:ALQ) are also lower.
Gold and the dollarGold is trading at $US1,236 an ounce and the Australian dollar is buying $US0.7669.
