Following record leads on Wall Street the Australian share market propelled ahead at the open rising 0.5 per cent in the first hour of trade, but pushed higher again, with the local bourse rising 0.65 at noon.
All sectors are marching forth today, with solid gains seen in Consumer Discretionary, Utilities, Industrials and Energy.
The oil price lifted 2.7 per cent overnight settling back above the US$50.00 mark, which was impetus for the likes Beach Energy
(ASX:BPT) to add about 1.9 per cent.
A modest lift in the iron ore price is also helping the miners today, while Rio
(ASX:RIO) is so far outperforming BHP
(ASX:BHP). But Fortescue Metals
(ASX:FMG) is going the other way, trading below the line.
The big four banks are also trading higher, with Westpac
(ASX:WBC) outperforming the other three major banks, while financial services giant AMP
(ASX:AMP) is rallying 2 per cent higher continuing its run from yesterday’s Credit Suisse upgrade.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 37 points up at 5,775.
On the futures market the SPI is 40 points higher.
Asian marketsJapan’s Nikkei has lost 0.1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 0.58 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has risen 0.26 per cent.
Company newsAustralia's largest organic infant formula producer, Bellamy’s Australia
(ASX:BAL) has accepted an ASIC continuous disclosure infringement notice and paid a $66,000 fine without admission of any wrongdoing. Bellamy’s was slapped with the fine over allegedly not meeting its continuous disclosure obligation from 18 October 2016 to 2 December 2016. The company paid the fine, not an admission of liability, but simply so it could focus on business operations and shareholder value. Shares in Bellamy’s Australia
(ASX:BAL) are trading 6.99 per cent higher at $9.34.
Healthcare provider, LifeHealthcare
(ASX:LHC) has acquired the rights to promote its spinal allograft biologics range in a $100 million per year market. The company purchased the $3.25 million rights that will give it access to 125 local surgeons, who use Australian Biotechnologies (Aus Bio) allograft spinal products. The deal will bolster LifeHealthcare’s expansion into other channels and provide $1.9 million in revenue. Shares in LifeHealthcare
(ASX:LHC) are trading 5.16 per cent higher at $2.24
To the best and worst performersThe best performing sector is Utilities, gaining 1.09 per cent to 7,959. Shares in Spark Infrastructure Group
(ASX:SKI) have risen 1.22 per cent and trading at $2.48. Shares in AGL Energy
(ASX:AGL) and APA Group
(ASX:APA) are also stronger.
The sector with the least gains Materials added 0.31 per cent to 10,536. Shares in Mineral Resources Limited
(ASX:MIN) have fallen 1.67 per cent, trading at $17.68. Shares in Galaxy Resources
(ASX:GXY) and Sims Metal Management
(ASX:SGM) are also lower.
Gold and the dollarGold is trading at $US1,291 an ounce and one Australian dollar is buying 77.99 US cents.
