It has been a positive day of trade for the Australian share market. After opening in the black the local bourse managed to push higher throughout the session before closing about 0.8 per cent higher.
The majority of the sectors traded higher with Telcos leading the charge after Telstra
(ASX:TLS) shares recovered from yesterday’s sell off.
Utilites came in as the second-best sector, while Consumer Discretionary also saw gains. Webjet
(ASX:WEB) announced record profits, with its share climbing 5.5 per cent.
The only sector that closed lower today, copping the most selling was the Energy space, which was dragged down crude oil prices hitting a 6-week low overnight in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 45 points higher to finish at 5,715, up 0.79 per cent.
The value of trades was $6.7 billion on volume of 1.03 billion shares at the close of trade.
The top three stocks by value were Reliance Worldwide Corporation Limited
(ASX:RWC) Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX:CBA) and BHP Billiton Limited
(ASX:BHP).
On the futures market the SPI is 35 points up.
Asian marketsTokyo’s Nikkei gained 0.7 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.6 per cent and The Shanghai Composite closed 0.3 per cent lower.
Local economic newsInvestors and traders had a bit of data to digest today, however all eyes were on the June quarter estimates of business investment, released by the ABS.
Business spending rose 0.8 per cent in the quarter in seasonally terms, beating forecasts it would rise by 0.5 per cent. It’s welcome news as the data is fed into the calculation of economic growth.
Private sector credit, or outstanding loans rose 0.5 per cent in July, according to the Reserve Bank. It was no surprise to investors as it was on par with consensus.
And finally, heat continues to come out of Australia’s housing markets with figures falling 3.7 per cent in July according to Housing Industry Association (HIA).
Company news Genex Power
(ASX:GNX) has reported stronger revenue for the 2017 financial year, with a 270 per cent gain on FY16 to $2.8 million. As at the close of the fiscal year, Genex has just over $11 million in cash in the bank. However, on the back of nearing the energisation of its key project, the Kidston Solar Project, Genex Power etched a net loss after tax of $6.48 million for the year ending 30 June. Shares in Genex Power
(ASX:GNX) closed 2 per cent lower at 24 cents.
Orocobre
(ASX:ORE) has bounded ahead, reporting a record net profit after tax (NPAT) of US$19.4 million for the 2017 financial year; recovering from a $US22 million loss for FY16.
Qantas
(ASX:QAN) announced it will extend its partnership with gulf carrier Emirates for another five years.
Harvey Norman
(ASX:HVN) has announced a record breaking full year profit result, reporting its net profit after tax (NPAT) rose 28.8 per cent on FY16 to $448.98 million for the 2017 financial year. Obviously not what the market wanted to hear as its shares lost close to 7.5 per cent.
Best and worst performers of the dayThe best performing sector was Telcos adding 1.8 per cent to close at 1,291.
The worst performing sector was Energy, losing 1.4 per cent to close at 9,177.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Orocobre Limited
(ASX:ORE), rising 14.2 per cent to close at $3.86. Shares in Speedcast International
(ASX:SDA) and Galaxy Resources
(ASX:GXY) also closed higher.
The worst performing stock was Harvey Norman Holdings
(ASX:HVN), dropping 7.48 per cent to close at $4.08. Shares in Reliance Worldwide Corporation Limited
(ASX:RWC) and Skycity Entertainment Group
(ASX:SKC) also closed lower.
Gold is trading at $US1,303 an ounce.
Light crude is down 47 cents at $US45.97 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying $US 78.88
