The Australian share market inked a brand new 10 year high after making gains for the second straight day. Our main index (ASX200) lifted at the open on tech stocks rallying in the US, with the Nasdaq gaining 1.1 per cent, with the top 500 stocks and Dow Jones following.
As for our sectors today, miners are boding well, despite some weakness in metals prices. The likes of St Barbara
(ASX:SBM) rose 5.7 per cent on the back of record quarter and full year gold production.
BHP
(ASX:BHP) is up the most out the major heavy weight miners, up 1.3 per cent despite the iron ore price falling almost 2 per cent [to US$63.14] while its futures are eyeing a rise of 0.2 per cent. The Aluminium price fell 0.6 per cent and Zinc fell again, this time to a fresh 1-year low.
Energy stocks also boding well with the likes of Whitehaven Coal
(ASX:WHC) up 1.4 per cent, while Santos
(ASX:STO) is up 2 per cent, despite the oil price dipping almost 2 per cent on rising US supply (while the WTI prices still trades nears its 3-year high.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 0.45 per cent or 28 points higher at 6,243. On the futures market the SPI is 31 points higher.
Company news Bega Cheese
(ASX:BGA) has advised that Macquarie Group
(ASX:MGQ) sold down an undisclosed stake in the company. It comes as the dairy reminded shareholders that the company’s constitutional does not allow a person, with his or her associations to hold no more than 15 per cent of the company. Shares in Bega Cheese
(ASX:BGA) last traded at $7.34.
Trimantum GrowthOps
(ASX:TGO) has written to shareholders of its takeover target, Asia Pacific Digital (APD)
(ASX:DIG) asking them to accept their takeover over of about $20 million. Trimantum, which was one of the biggest tech IPOs of last year, is offering 1 TGO share for every 8.9 Asian Pacific Digital share, which is a 133 per cent premium on APD’s close price on 14 June 2018. APD is an Asian digital transformation company, with 300 staff across Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. Trimantum GrowthOps
(ASX:TGO) last traded at $1.23 on 7 June 2018.
And in small caps, Zinc, lead explorer, Symbol Mining
(ASX:SL1) has seen a healthy rally with its shares jumping on the back of having its mining lease approved, and it commencing mining at its zinc project. Shares in Symbol Mining
(ASX:SL1) are trading 44.8 per cent higher at $0.04 at noon.
Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals
(ASX:PAR) shares hit a fresh one year high today rising 17.9 per cent to $0.85.
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector is telcos adding 1.3 per cent, while the worst performing sector is healthcare, shedding 0.4 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is St Barbara Limited
(ASX:SBM), rising 5.7 per cent to $5.05, followed by shares in Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings
(ASX:NEC) and Bluescope Steel Limited
(ASX:BSL).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Inghams Group Limited
(ASX:ING), dropping 3.04 per cent to $3.83, followed by shares in Appen Limited
(ASX:APX) and Bellamy's Australia Limited
(ASX:BAL).
Asian markets Higher: Japan’s Nikkei has added 0.9 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has added 0.4 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has gained 0.3 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at $US1,255 an ounce.
One Australian dollar is buying 73.80 US cents.
CryptocurrenciesSome of the most traded cryptocurrencies are trading mixed. Bitcoin has lost 0.07 per cent to US$6,620 ,Ethereum is about 0.42 per cent higher to US$472 and EOS has lost about 1.5 per cent to US$8.83.
