It has been a disappointing end to the trading week for the Australian share market, with the local bourse erasing its last couple of days of gains, closing the session 1.42 per cent lower. All sectors finished the day underwater, with Health Care faring the worst, followed by losses in Industrials and Financials excluding REITs. Telcos experienced the least amount of selling out of all of the sectors and ended up closing the day 0.3 per cent lower.
At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 82 points down to finish at 5,703.
The value of trades was $6.7 billion on volume of 845 million shares at the close of trade. The top three stocks by value were Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX:CBA), BHP Billiton Limited
(ASX:BHP) and Westpac Banking Corporation
(ASX:WBC).
On the futures market the SPI is 84 points down.
Asian marketsTaking a look at how Asian markets are tracking in afternoon trade. The Nikkei is 0.64 per cent lower, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is 0.6 per cent lower and Shanghai Composite is 0.06 per cent higher.
US marketsLooking at Wall Street, US major indexes were mixed over the four trading days this week: The Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 0.99 per cent. The S&P 500 Index has added 0.12 per cent. The NASDAQ has lost 0.09 per cent. The 100 Index has lost 0.08 per cent.
Company newsAbacus Property Group Limited
(ASX:ABP) says it expects to report statutory profit in the range of $275 million to $290 million for the 2017 financial year. The company says the range represents a significant improvement in earnings for Abacus. The improvement has been attributed to a number of factors including stronger than expected transactional profits from the realisation of the Group’s residential and land projects. Shares in Abacus Limited closed 0.66 per cent higher at $3.05.
Austal Limited
(ASX:ASB) has delivered a 50 metre high-speed passenger ferry to Seaspoville, marking its first ever delivery to South Korea.
Billabong International
(ASX:BBG) has terminated an omni-channel solution provider agreement, which will result in a $11.7 million impairment in its FY17 results.
Webjet
(ASX:WEB) is expecting to perform strongly in the period with EBITDA of around $80 million.
Best and worst performersThe sector with the least losses was Telcos losing 0.32 per cent to close at 1,451. The worst performing sector was Health Care losing 2.08 per cent to close at 22,412 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Fortescue Metals
(ASX:FMG), rising 3.44 per cent to close at $5.42. Shares in Brickworks
(ASX:BKW) and IOOF
(ASX:IFL) also closed higher.
The worst performing stock was Webjet
(ASX:WEB), dropping 6.87 per cent to close at $11.80. Shares in Asaleo Care
(ASX:AHY) and Regis Resources
(ASX:RRL) also closed lower.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at $US1,260 an ounce.
Light crude is $0.40 higher at $US49.15 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying $US0.7981.
