The Australian share market kicked off the trading week on a high, but it was a bit of a wild ride. The major index, the ASX200 shot up at the open, but quickly fell into red territory. By afternoon, most of the sectors were in the green with energy and property stocks rising the most.
The likes of Santos
(ASX:STO) gained about 2.9 per cent, Whitehaven Coal
(ASX:WHC) up 2.6 per cent after the crude oil price hit a two day high. And on the property spectrum, Cromwell Property Fund
(ASX:CMW) lifted 2.3 per cent. And in the staples space, Bellamy's Australia
(ASX:BAL) surged 5.3 per cent higher.
Holding back gains in the afternoon, was selling in financials with NAB
(ASX:NAB) and ANZ
(ASX:ANZ) closing in the red amid the banking royal commission.
At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 10 points up, or 0.2 per cent higher to finish at 5,959.
Futures Dow Jones futures are 60 points lower, while the ASX200 futures are suggesting a 6 point gain.
Value of tradeswas $4.6 billion on volume of 591 million shares at the close of trade. The top three stocks by value were Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX:CBA), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group
(ASX:ANZ), BHP Billiton Limited
(ASX:BHP).
Company news Annuity provider, Challenger Limited
(ASX:CGF) announced its dividend reinvestment plan price will be $12.29. Its shares today Shares closed 0.2 per cent lower at $11.97.
Salmon farming company, Tassal Group
(ASX:TGR) has announced the retirement of non-executive director Raelene Murphy and appointment of John Watson. Its shares fell about 4.9 per cent today.
Gold mining company Newcrest Mining
(ASX:NCM) advised its Wafi-Golpu joint venture exploration project in Papua New Guinea is expected to generate free cash flow averaging about $0.9 billion per annum.
Oil and gas company Oil Search,
(ASX:OSH) has announced a deal with Petsec Energy concerning its onshore exploration permit in the republic of Yemen. Under the agreement Petsec will acquire all shares of Oil search subsidiary Oil Search (ROY) Limited.
Spark New Zealand
(ASX:SPK) announced it became the first telecommunications company in NZ to switch on a 5G mobile test site. 5G is the fifth generation of wireless technology and can be up to 100 times faster than 4G and is 90 times faster than today’s most common UFB service.
Kidman Resources
(ASX:KDR) announced a 54 per cent uptick in its mineral resource estimates at one of its deposits near Southern Cross in WA, ‘Earl Grey’.
Global Geoscience
(ASX:GSC) which is progressing its project in Nevada, entered the ASX300 today.
Best and worst performers of the dayThe best performing sector was energy adding 1.7 per cent to close at 10,106.
The worst performing sector was financials, shedding 0.2 per cent to close at 6,297. points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was BELLAMY'S AUSTRALIA LIMITED
(ASX:BAL), rising 5.3 per cent to close at $22.30. Shares in AUSNET SERVICES LIMITED
(ASX:AST) and SANTOS LIMITED
(ASX:STO) followed higher.
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was TASSAL GROUP LIMITED
(ASX:TGR), dropping 5 per cent to close at $3.67. Shares in SYRAH RESOURCES LIMITED
(ASX:SYR) and GALAXY RESOURCES LIMITED
(ASX:GXY) followed lower.
Asian marketsJapan’s Nikkei has lost 1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is slightly higher up 0.07 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite is slightly higher, with a gain of 0.09 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at $US1,312 an ounce.
Light crude is $1.15 up at $US62.14 barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 76.93 US cents.
CryptocurrenciesBitcoin has gained 8 per cent to US$8,321, Ethereum gained about 5 per cent to US$541 and Ripple has added 4 per cent to US$0.66
