The Australian share market clawed back its losses and is now higher in the new financial year, after the main index gained 0.4 per cent at noon.
From the get go we had positive leads as Wall Street started its third quarter with green tracks. The oil price has risen to a two-day high, which has seen Beach Energy
(ASX:BPT) run to the front of the pack, as a stand out stock, rising 4.8 per cent. As for the sectors, most are all higher on the back of positive sentiment as traders and investors await the RBA’s interest rate decision.
Meantime the miners are in the red today, after the iron ore price dipped 0.7 per cent overnight to US$64.54, its futures are pointing to a rise of 0.3 per cent. We are seeing the likes of BHP
(ASX:BHP), Rio
(ASX:RIO) and Fortescue
(ASX:FMG) slip.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 0.44 per cent or 27 points up at 6,205. On the futures market the SPI is 18 points higher.
Economic newsInterest rates expected to remain on hold at 1.5 per cent, with the Reserve Bank board handing down their decision at 2.30pm.
Building permits fell in May by 3.2 per cent, in seasonally adjusted terms largely on the back of a 8.6 per cent slump in private sector housing approvals. That surprised economists, who expected permits would rise 1 per cent. In trend terms, the value of total building approvals has fallen for seven months, a sign the property market has cooled its heels.
Company news Orion Health Group
(ASX:OHE) has seen a massive rally its in shares gaining about 59 per cent after it announced ‘Hg’ will make a $255 million transactional injection into the company, buying the majority of its health Rhapsody and Population Health Business. Shares in Orion Health
(ASX:OHE) are trading 59 per cent higher at $1.10 at noon.
Medicinal cannabis company, AusCann
(ASX:AC8) entered into a trading halt pending a release about its capital raising. It last traded at $1.28 on 2 July.
Synalit Milk
(ASX:SM1) extended its supply deal with a2 Milk Company’s
(ASX:A2M) infant formulae business. The company granted a2 Milk with a two-year extenson, granting a new minimum term of five years, through to 31 July 2023. Shares in Synalit Milk
(ASX:SM1) are trading 1.25 per cent higher at $10.53 at noon.
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector is consumer staples adding 1.33 per cent, while the worst performing sector is materials, shedding 1.00 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Beach Energy Limited
(ASX:BPT), rising 4.83 per cent to $1.84, followed by shares in Link Administration Holdings Limited
(ASX:LNK) and The a2 Milk Company Limited
(ASX:A2M).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Limited
(ASX:API), dropping 4.1 per cent to $1.52 followed by shares in Insurance Australia Group Limited
(ASX:IAG) and Iluka Resources Limited
(ASX:ILU).
Asian markets Lower: Japan’s Nikkei has lost 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 2.9 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has lost 0.5 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at $US1,238 an ounce.
One Australian dollar is buying 73.33 US cents.
CryptocurrenciesSome of the most traded cryptocurrencies are trading higher: Bitcoin has gained 4 per cent to US$6,614, Ethereum is up about 5 per cent to US$475 and EOS has gained about 6.2 per cent to US$8.96.
