The Australian share market continued its slide from yesterday and the S&P/ASX 200 index is 26 points or 0.4 per cent lower at noon at 6,216. On the futures market the SPI is 13 points lower.
From the outset we had mixed leads from Wall Street with US companies releasing quarterly results and Netflix’s result disappointing.
Meantime, the US crude oil price fell 4 per cent or about $3 a barrel, stumbling toward its one month-low after the US government eased fears of removing Iranian barrels from the market.
Because of that, our Energy sector is leading the decline today with the likes of Woodside Petroleum
(ASX:WPL) down 2.4 per cent, while Whitehaven Coal
(ASX:WHC) is 3.1 per cent lower at noon. But over the past year its shares have gained over 85 per cent.
Most of the other sectors are following energy lower. While only two sectors at noon are making profits, financials and industrials, with the likes of financial software provider, Praemium
(ASX:PPS) up 3.7 per cent, with it trading near its one-year high.
Economic newsThe RBA board says it’s concerned about the direction of international trade policy in the United States and its effect on the global outlook, which has intensified over the prior month. In the RBA meeting minutes, the board also advised housing prices had fallen moderately in Sydney and Melbourne, following significant growth over preceding years. Meantime, it also mentioned inflation remained low, reflecting low growth in labour costs and strong retail competition. And these were just some of the reasons interest rates were kept on hold earlier in month.
Company news Waste management services and recycling company, Bingo Industries
(ASX:BIN) has quashed media speculation, saying the majority shareholders (the Tartak family, including the CEO Daniel Tartak who owns 17 per cent) are not selling down their shares after the release from escrow. It will announce its FY18 financial results to the market on 21 August and has reaffirmed its guidance of $93 million in EBITDA. Shares in Bingo Industries
(ASX:BIN) are trading 2.6 per cent higher at $2.60.
The Tasmanian government has approved the restocking of Tassal’s
(ASX:TGR) Franklin lease in Macquarie Harbour. It’s the salmon farmer’s largest lease in the harbour. Through its new joint venture with Petuna, it has jointly developed a stocking plan, allowing for longer periods between fish production cycles. Shares in Tassal
(ASX:TGR) are trading 0.95 per cent lower at $4.17.
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector is industrials adding 0.1 per cent, while the worst performing sector is energy, shedding 1.91 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Seven West Media Limited
(ASX:SWM), rising 2.94 per cent to $0.88, followed by shares in Ansell Limited
(ASX:ANN) and Mcmillan Shakespeare Limited
(ASX:MMS).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Wisetech Global Limited
(ASX:WTC), dropping 4.1 per cent to $16.93, followed by shares in Iluka Resources Limited
(ASX:ILU) and Whitehaven Coal Limited
(ASX:WHC).
Asian marketsJapan’s Nikkei has added 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 0.86 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has lost 0.76 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at $US1,240 an ounce.
Iron ore price gained 0.8 per cent to US$64.56 and its futures are flat.
One Australian dollar is buying 74.07 US cents.
CryptocurrenciesSome of the most traded cryptocurrencies are trading higher. Bitcoin has gained 5.68 per cent to US$6,729 Ethereum has added about 6.6 per cent to US$478 and EOS has gained about 9.2 per cent to US$8.01.
