The Australian share market opened lower after US president Donald Trump proposed $100 billion of additional tariffs on Chinese products. The ASX futures were pointing to a rise at the open after we had positive leads from Wall Street but now most sectors are under water and the ASX200 is 0.1 per cent or 9 points lower at 5,781.
Health care stocks are leading the decliners, miners are also trading below the line despite the iron ore price holding steady after losing about 20 per cent over the last month.
On the futures market the SPI is 12 points lower.
Company news Wattle Health
(ASX:WHA) hit sales of $804,400 in the march quarter, which is 121 per cent of the total sales it received for the 6 months to December end. The company is requesting to enter suspension at the request of the company, pending the release of an announcement about finalising its JV with Organic Dairy Farmers of Australia. The company also flagged a potential capital raise, just a day after revealing Wattle Health inked a deal to supply their conventional cow infant formula for sale in traditional retail and general trade in mainland China. Once in suspension it will remain in place until the JV announcement or by 20 April 2018. Shares in Wattle Health
(ASX:WHA) are trading 4 per cent higher at $2.26
Woolworths
(ASX:WOW) wrote to shareholders today advising the dividend per share is up 26.5 per cent compared to the half year 2017, to 43 cents. It also told shareholders it made good progress with its transformation. As for shares in Woolworths
(ASX:WOW) they are bouncing up off their one month low, now flat at $26.60
Blue Sky Alternative Investments
(ASX:BLA) non-executive director, Michael Gordon has snapped up 15,000 shares in the company. Michael Gordon was previously Perpetual Group Exec. Another director, Phillip Hennessy snapped up 5,000 shares for about $42,200. Its shares are trading a one year low, down 10 per cent $5.06.
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector is property adding 0.4 per cent to 1,322 points while the worst performing sector is utilities, shedding 0.4 per cent to 7,415 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Galaxy Resources
(ASX:GXY), rising 4.15 per cent to $3.01, followed by shares in Orocobre
(ASX:ORE) and Sandfire Resources NL
(ASX:SFR).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Retail Food Group
(ASX:RFG), dropping 4.8 per cent to $0.889, followed by shares in Navitas
(ASX:NVT) and Altium (ASX: ALU).
Asian marketsJapan’s Nikkei has lost 0.1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 1 per cent and the Shanghai Composite is flat.
Gold and the dollar Gold is trading at $US1,332 an ounce.
One Australian dollar is buying 76.87 US cents.
CryptocurrenciesBitcoin has gained 2 per cent to US$6,827, TRON gained about 38 per cent to US$0.04 and Ethereum added 2 per cent to US$381.
