Despite strong leads from Wall Street, it has been a disappointing end to the trading session for the Australian share market. The local bourse bounced at the open but struggled for any kind of direction for the remainder of the session and ended up closing the day 0.19 per cent lower. At the end of the day the Financials space proved to be the biggest drag on the market with losses in the big four banks. Consumer Discretionaries bucked the trend and closed higher.
At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 11 points down to finish at 5,760.
The value of trades was $4.6 billion on volume of 674 million shares at the close of trade. The top three stocks by value were ANZ Banking Corporation
(ASX:ANZ), BHP Billiton
(ASX:BHP) and National Australia Bank
(ASX:NAB).
On the futures market the SPI is 23 points down.
Asian marketsTaking a look at how Asian markets are tracking in afternoon trade. The Nikkei is 0.47 per cent lower, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is up 0.15 per cent and the Shanghai Composite is 0.39 per cent lower.
Company newsSurfStitch Group Limited
(ASX:SRF) has denied media reports that a class action has been filed against it in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The embattled online surf wear retailer says the company is not in receipt of any claim or other communication in relation to the matter. It also assures the market it will provide it with further updates as required. Shares in SurfStitch Limited closed 9.33 per cent lower at $0.07.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX:CBA) is estimating the Federal Government’s new bank levy will cost the group about $315 million per annum before tax or $220 million after tax per year.
Caltex Australia
(ASX:CTX) has announced its sales from production in April 2017 slumped from the prior month.
Woodside Petroleum
(ASX:WPL) says it’s planning to grow its production in the years ahead, focusing on opportunities to unlock value from its resource base.
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector was Consumer Discretionaries adding 0.53 per cent to close at 2,199. The worst performing sector was Financials, losing 0.54 per cent to close at 6,416 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Bapcor
(ASX:BAP), rising 3.73 per cent to close at $5.56. Shares in REA Group
(ASX:REA) and GUD Holdings
(ASX:GUD) also closed higher.
The worst performing stock was Brickworks
(ASX:BKW), dropping 3.55 per cent to close at $14.11. Shares in Mineral Resources
(ASX:MIN) and Southern Cross Media
(ASX:SXL) also closed lower.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at $US1,262 an ounce.
Light crude is $0.37 up at $US51.04 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying $US0.7504.
