Following daily and weekly gains from Wall Street on Friday, the Australian share market was set for a double-digit rise. But after increased North Korea tension with the East Asian republic firing its most powerful bomb test so far, the local bourse took at a dive at the open.
Leading the slight recovery is a bout of economic news with an increase in jobs ads and mining exploration.
Notwithstanding that, shares in the Commonwealth Bank
(ASX:CBA) are leading financials lower, after the big four bank announced a new non-executive director was appointed.
Across the board, it’s seas of red so far, with Telcos the only stand out sector seeing gains.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 18 points down at 5,706.
On the futures market the SPI is 17 points lower.
Asian markets Japan’s Nikkei has lost 0.99 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has shed 0.3 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has gained 0.12 per cent.
Local economic news The ABS revealed its ‘Business Indicators’ publication for the June quarter, with businesses profits and inventory falling while total wages rose.
The ABS also announced mineral exploration jumped 6.6 per cent in the June quarter in trend terms. The largest contributor to the lift, was Western Australia exploration with steam of 6.5 per cent growth or $17.4 million.
Meantime, ANZ job ads rose 2 per cent, clocking over a gain for the 6th straight month.
Company newsArdent Leisure
(ASX:AAD) decided not to hold an extraordinary general meeting today to appoint two directors and instead invited them to the board with immediate effect. It comes as two shareholders, Portfolio Services and Kayaal or Ariadne requested the owner of Dreamworld and other leisure assets appoint Dr Gary Hilton Weiss and Carl Bradford Richard. All parties agreed their appointments would focus on delivering shareholder value. As a results, two directors will now step down no later than the 2017 AGM. Shares in Ardent Leisure
(ASX:AAD) are trading down 0.77 per cent at $1.94.
CIMIC Group’s
(ASX:CIM) CPB Contractors have been awarded a $365 million contract to upgrade the Pacific Highway in northern New South Wales. It forms part of Australia’s largest regional infrastructure project. The international business won the works to deliver 34 kilometres of highway upgrade, linking the south and north between Woolgoolga and Ballina. Works will start in October and finish by 2020. Shares in CIMIC Group
(ASX:CIM) are trading down 0.22 per cent lower to $41.59.
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector is Telcos, gaining 0.31 per cent to 1,294. Shares in Vocus Group Limited
(ASX:VOC) have risen 3.29 per cent and trading at $2.35. Shares in Telstra Corporation Limited
(ASX:TLS) is higher while TPG Telecom
(ASX:TPM) is flat.
The worst performing sector is Utilites, falling 1.8 per cent to 8,310. Shares in AGL Energy
(ASX:AGL) have fallen 2.33 per cent, trading at $23.85. Shares in Spark Infrastructure Group
(ASX:SKI) and Infigen Energy
(ASX:IFN) are also lower.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at $US1,333 an ounce and one Australian dollar is buying 79.64 US cents.
