The Australian share market ended Friday in positive territory, marking our third day of gains this week, at the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.2 per cent or 14 points higher, finishing 5,829. Over the week we finished 40 points or 0.7 per cent higher.
We had positive sentiment from the get go Wall Street closing higher after Syria concerns eased and the three major US indices bounced back. However, half of the sectors closed in the green today with healthcare leading the charge followed by consumer discretionary as Seven West Media
(ASX:SWM) shares soared on the back of strengthening its sports free-to-air rights.
Miners also shone with Fortescue
(ASX:FMG) and Rio
(ASX:RIO) gaining 2 per cent, but the biggest shiner in the space, Fletcher Building
(ASX:FBU) up about 8.5 per cent after it confirmed that Wesfarmers
(ASX:WES) has been accumulating shares in its company, and now holds 3-4 per cent of its shares. That news sent its shares soaring.
Futures
The Dow futures are suggesting a fall of 23 points up.
And the ASX200 futures are eyeing a 11 point gain.
Value of trades
$4.5 billion on volume of 600 million shares at the close of trade. The top three stocks by value were Rio (RIO), NAB
(ASX:NAB) and BHP
(ASX:BHP).
Company news
In a joint press conference with Seven West Media
(ASX:SWM) and Cricket Australia, Seven announced it’s the new free-to air home of cricket. It will cost Seven West Media $75 million per year, across the six-year deal from 2018 to 2024. It’s also the first time in history that number one summer and winter sports will be on the one network. Chairman of Seven West Media, Kerry Stokes says he it really puts the network in an enviable position as it’s the first and only free-to-air broadcaster to cover both cricket (Australia’s truly national game) and AFL. Shares in Seven West Media
(ASX:SWM) closed 12.6 per cent higher at $0.58.
Meantime, Nine Entertainment
(ASX:NEC) also announced that although it was not granted rights for the 2018/2019 summer it will not impact its FY18 results. However Nine says it’s not yet possible to give an indication of the likely impact no FY19. while Nine Entertainment
(ASX:NEC) shares closed flat at $2.25.
CBA
(ASX:CBA) entered into an enforceable undertaking with the corporate watchdog, ASIC, for an advice fee refund program. Commonwealth Financial Planning and BW Financial Planning Advice entered into the agreement to make a community benefit payment of $3 million. Plus, they will also have EY verify that its service delivery processes meet regulatory and client (community) standards. The bank has already forked out $88 million plus interest to affected customers, for same entities clients who didn’t receive a yearly review as part of their finanical advice package that they paid for from 2007 to 2015.
Oil Search
(ASX:OSH) announced ExxonMobil resumed production of liquefied natural gas in Papua New Guinea after a temporary shutdown following severe earthquake. Oil Search has a 29 per cent stake in the LNG project and Santos
(ASX:STO) holds 13.5 per cent. The quake hit on February 26 this year.
And Financial services company, Netwealth
(ASX:NWL) saw a lift of 4 per cent in its funds under administration in the quarter, taking it to $16 billion. And according to Investment Trends it’s now the most widely used managed account platform in financial planning.
Best and worst performers of the day
The best performing sector was healthcare adding 0.97 per cent to close at 26,517.
The worst performing sector was utilites, shedding 0.4 per cent to close at 7,325. points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Seven West Media
(ASX:SWM), rising 12.6 per cent to close at $0.58. Shares in Fletcher Building
(ASX:FBU) and Primary Health Care
(ASX:PRY) followed higher.
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Bellamy's Australia
(ASX:BAL), dropping 5 per cent to close at $20.15. Shares in Flight Centre Travel Group
(ASX:FLT) and The A2 Milk Company
(ASX:A2M) followed lower.
Asian markets
Japan’s Nikkei has added 0.47 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has added 0.03 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has lost 0.4 per cent.
Wall Street
The Dow Jones added 2.3 per cent, The S&P 500 added 2.2 per cent and the tech heavy Nasdaq gained 2.3 per cent, while the 100 index added 3.4.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,338 an ounce.
Light crude is $0.34 up at $US67.02 barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 77.78 US cents.
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin trades at US$7,813, Ethereum is at US$490 and EOS is at US$9.04.
