The Australian share market has had a positive day to kick off the trading week. After shooting up at the open, in line with encouraging leads from Wall Street, the local bourse managed to maintain momentum in the first two hours of trade, trading 0.73 higher at noon, before losing some of that ground to close 0.37 per cent up.
Telcos, Financials Consumer Discretionary and Staples led the charge today with the likes of TPG Telecom
(ASX:TPM) gaining 2.2 per cent, and QBE Insurance
(ASX:QBE) gaining over 2.7 per cent. On the flip side, marginal losses were seen in the Health Care, Reits and Materials sectors with the likes of Compumedics
(ASX:CMP) falling over 9.8 per cent.
At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 21 points up to finish at 5,724.
The value of trades was $4.7 billion on volume of 607 million shares at the close of trade. The top three stocks by value were Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX:CBA), Westpac Banking Corporation
(ASX:WBC) and BHP Billiton Limited
(ASX:BHP).
On the futures market the SPI is 27 points up
Asian marketsThe Nikkei is 0.78 per cent higher, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is up 0.89 per cent and the Shanghai Composite is 0.11 per cent lower.
Company news The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has lodged an application with the Federal Court to review the Australian Competition Tribunals’ decision to grant authority for Tabcorp Holdings
(ASX:TAH) to merge with Tatts Group
(ASX:TTS). The ACCC says the Tribunal made three reviewable errors and is seeking clarification as the three points of law are central to the Tribunals’ assessment. The body says these legal principals are fundamental not only to the Tacorp decision but to all future merger and non-merger authorisation assessments. Tabcorp closed 1.42 per cent up at $4.29
CSL Limited
(ASX:CSL) says it did not infringe three Bioverativ patents and it will vigorously defend the patent infringement claim filed by Bioverativ with International Trade Commission. CSL remains highly confident of its intellectual property position as it poured over a decade of innovative research into the use of Idelvion, the product which the allegations are based on.
Kore Potash
(ASX:K2P) is seeking to list on the London Stock Exchange (AIM) by the end of 2017 with Canaccord appointed as its leading adviser.
Kidman Resources
(ASX:KDR) has successfully defended its Mt Holland project and Earl Grey deposit’s lithium rights in a Supreme Court trial.
The best and worst performers The best performing sector was Telcos adding 0.8 per cent to close at 1,530. The worst performing sector was Health care, losing 0.25 per cent to close at 23,402 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Sims Metal Management Limited
(ASX:SGM), rising 4.6 per cent to close at $16.13. Shares in Tassal Group Limited
(ASX:TGR) and Flight Centre Travel Group Limited
(ASX:FLT) also closed higher.
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Mantra Group Limited
(ASX:MTR) dropping 3.28 per cent to close at $2.95. Shares in South32 Limited
(ASX:S32) and Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Limited
(ASX:API) also closed lower.
To commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at $US1,210 an ounce.
Light crude is $1.29 lower at $US44.23 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 76.05 US cents.
