ASX200 reshuffle & profit taking weigh: Aus shares flat mid-session

Market Reports

by Jessica Amir

The Australian share market started today’s session lower after making gains over the last two days.

Just a handful of sectors are making green tracks today, with some large caps losing steam after the ASX200 is being re-shuffled.

The energy sector is continuing to lead, extending its gains from yesterday after the US crude oil price is floating US$1.00 above OPEC’s target price. Santos (ASX:STO) gave up some gains today, falling 1 per cent, while Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) is up over 1 per cent.

AMP (ASX:AMP) lost its place among the top 20 biggest companies and was replaced by Amcor (ASX:AMC) which is trading higher for the third straight day.

Miners are trading lower with some profit taking occurring. We saw Kidman Resources (ASX:KDR) added to the top 200 but it’s trading about 4.9 per cent lower. Meantime, the ore price priced gained 0.4 per cent to US$66.84 and its futures are pointing to fall of 1.2 per cent. We are seeing the likes of BHP (ASX:BHP) retreat slightly, while Rio (ASX:RIO) gains.

The S&P/ASX 200 index is 1 point or 0.02 per cent lower at 6,056. On the futures market the SPI is 4 points higher.

Company news

Tabcorp (ASX:TAH) confirmed it’s now in talks with its partner, News UK about the proposed exit of UK wagering and gaming business, Sun Bets. Although it has not reached an agreement it advised it’s started collectively talking to Sun Bets employees about the proposal, which is in line with UK employment law obligations. Tabcorp (ASX:TAH) shares trade 1.1 per cent higher at $4.53.

Retail Food Group (ASX:RFG) will be ousted from the top 200 list of ASX companies, according to the S&P/ASX 200 index quarterly rebalance. The rebalance for the ASX 200 is effective on 18 June but that didn’t stop RFG shares hitting a new all-time low today, after it shares fell 3.7 per cent to $0.65

Shaver Shop (ASX:SSG) is in the midst of a share buy-back and has completed about $1.3 million of share buy-backs over the last couple of days and still has the ability to buy back up to 9.6 million shares. It’s trading 1.1 per cent lower today at $0.46.

Property group, Charter Hall (ASX:CHC) has been issued with a first-time rating from credit rating agency, Moody’s. It was given a Baa1 Moody’s credit rating for its $231.5 million US Private Placement with a stable outlook. The notes are due to settle on 24 August 2018 and will mature in 2025. The proceeds will be used to support Charter Hall’s credit activities. Shares in Charter Hall (ASX:CHC) are trading steady at $6.35.

Best and worst performers

The best performing sector is energy adding 0.5 per cent, while the worst performing sector is industrials, shedding 0.6 per cent

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Nanosonics Limited (ASX:NAN), rising 6.2 per cent to $3.08, followed by shares in Domino's Pizza Enterprises Limited (ASX:DMP) and Bellamy's Australia Limited (ASX:BAL).

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Retail Food Group (ASX:RFG), dropping 3.7 per cent to $0.65, followed by shares in Aurizon Holdings Limited (ASX:AZJ) and Vocus Group Limited (ASX:VOC).

Asian markets 

Japan’s Nikkei has added 0.01 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 0.7 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has lost 0.7 per cent.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at $US1,297 an ounce.
One Australian dollar is buying 76.20 US cents.

Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin trades at US$7,683, Ethereum trades at US$607 and EOS is at US$14.52.

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter?

Would you like to receive our daily news to your inbox?