The Australian share market opened higher and maintained momentum throughout the day.
At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 42 points up, or 0.7 per cent higher to finish at 5,832
As for the sectors consumer discretionary saw the biggest rise followed by Industrials. Financials performed the worst. Aristocrat Leisure
(ASX:ALL) performed well as did packaging company Amcor
(ASX:AMC) meanwhile ANZ saw a drop
(ASX:ANZ)On the futures market the Dow futures are suggesting a rise of 97 points up.
And the ASX200 futures are also eyeing a gain of 35 points.
The value of trades was $5.2 billion on volume of 721 million shares at the close of trade. The top three stocks by value were BHP Billiton Limited
(ASX:BHP), National Australia Bank
(ASX:NAB) and Commonwealth bank
(ASX:CBA)Company newsNewfield Resources
(ASX:NWF) and Stellar Diamonds released their combination scheme document today after agreeing on terms of condition for the takeover. Earlier this month Newfield Resources signed an agreement to acquire the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of Stellar Diamonds for a sum of almost 8 million pounds.
Stellar Diamonds is a diamond development and exploration company focused on West Africa. Newfield Resources has diamond exploration licences in Sierra Leone and several gold projects in Western Australia
Shares in Newfield Resources
(ASX:NWF) closed 2 per cent higher at $0.24 c
HeadlinesCopper miner Oz Minerals
(ASX:OZL) has announced a takeover offer for Avanco Resources. The offer was unanimously recommended by Avanco’s board in the deal that values the junior copper company at $444 million.
International contractor Cimic Group
(ASX:CIM) has secured a $185 million dollar deal with BHP to provide additional mining services at the Mount Arthur coal operation.
Tourism and transport company Sealink Travel
(ASX:SLK) has completed a $43 million dollar acquisition of the Kingfisher Bay Resort Group from Cosmos Australia.
Iron ore producer Fortescue Metals
(ASX:FMG) has announced a voluntary redemption notice of about $1.6 billion US in relation to the 9.75 per cent senior secured notes due in 2022.
Tourism company Apollo Tourism & Leisure
(ASX:ATL) has completed an AU$8.2 million dollar acquisition of UK company Camperco Group. Camperco is one of the largest independent motorhome operators in the UK.
Best and worst performers of the dayThe best performing sector was consumer discretionary adding 1.6 per cent to close at 2271.
The worst performing sector was financials closing 0.2 per cent higher at 6130 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Western Areas
(ASX:WSA), rising 9 per cent to close at $3.29. Shares in Independence Group
(ASX:IGO) and A2 milk
(ASX:A2M) followed higher.
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Iress
(ASX:IRE), dropping 2 per cent to close at $9.43. Shares in Northern Star resources
(ASX:NST) and Newcrest Mining
(ASX:NCM) followed lower.
Asian markets Japan’s Nikkei has added 2 per cent to 21252, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has added 1 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has gained 1 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at $US1354 an ounce.
Light crude is $0.39 lower at $US65.49 barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 77.35 US cents.
CryptocurrenciesBitcoin has fallen 8 per cent to US$27823, Ethereum has fallen about 13 per cent to US$455 and EOS dropped 19 per cent to US$5.31
