The Australian share market opened lower this morning, and has continued to fall amid the flood of company results being reported. The local bourse is currently tracking 0.2% lower around midday.
REITs and Utilities are dragging the market down. An overwhelming majority of sectors are in the red, while only three sectors are in positive territory -- consumer discretionaries, resources and telcos.
Most of the big banks are down this morning – with ANZ being the worst hit, and NAB the only one in the black.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is down 12 points to 5,783. On the futures market the SPI is 17 points lower.
Company newsCaltex Australia’s
(ASX:CTX) full year profit fell 17% to $524 million in the 2016 financial year, despite a strong performance in fuels marketing. The company declared a final dividend of 52 cents per share, which is in line with its policy to pay 40-60% of its core profit to shareholders. Shares in Caltex are trading up 1.03 per cent at $29.96.
Oil Search
(ASX:OSH) reported an even bigger drop in full year profit. Its annual core profit, fell 70% due to weak oil and gas prices. The company declared a total dividend for FY16 was 3.5 cps, which is much lower than the 10cps it paid shareholders in year before. The company is also planning to double its capital expenditure with recent exploration and development on foot in Papua New Guinea. Shares in Oil Search are trading down 1.98 per cent at $6.93.
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector is Consumer Discretionaries, gaining 0.4 per cent to 2,064. Shares in Greencross
(ASX:GXL) have risen 5.58 per cent and are trading at $7.00. Shares in Bapcor
(ASX:BAP) and Sky Network Television (AXS:SKT) are also stronger.
The worst performing sector is Utilities, falling 0.7 per cent to 8,257. Shares in DUET Group
(ASX:DUE) have fallen 1.29 per cent, and are trading at $2.69. Shares in AGL Energy
(ASX:AGL) and Spark Infrastructure
(ASX:SKI) are also lower.
Commodities and the dollarSince this morning, gold has fallen to $US1,234 an ounce.
The Australian dollar has weakened slightly against the greenback, and is buying $US0.7669.
