The Australian share market opened higher this morning but drifted downwards by noon. It is now tracking 0.1 per cent lower at noon. The big four banks CBA
(ASX:CBA) ANZ
(ASX:ANZ), WBC
(ASX:WBC) and NAB
(ASX:NAB), as well as Macquarie
(ASX:MGQ) and Suncorp
(ASX:SUN) are all trading lower after the ASIC approved the Australian Banking Association’s (ABA’s) new Banking Code of Practice (the Code), which is enforceable from the beginning of next July (1 July 2019).
FNN's interviewed Anna Bligh, the CEO of the ABA, and you can check it out on our
website.Merged funds management Janus Henderson
(ASX:JHG) shares saw a dip when the resignation announcement of CEO Andrew Fornica was released. Materials are leading the way and Financials excluding REIT are trailing behind. The information technology and energy sectors have made some losses this morning. Iron ore price continued its momentum and rose 0.8 per cent to US$ 68.19 and its futures are pointing to a fall of 0.2 per cent. The S&P/ASX 200 index is 5 points down at 6275 down 0.1 per cent. On the futures market the SPI is 6 points lower.
Local economic newsThe Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index fell 5.4 points to 52.0 in July, indicating continuing but slower growth across the manufacturing sector.
National house prices fell for the 10th consecutive month in July, CoreLogic figures show, with the 0.6 per cent month-on-month fall bringing the annual decline to 1.6 per cent — the fastest rate since August 2012. House prices are now 1.9 per cent below their September 2017 peak.
Company news Janus Henderson
(ASX:JHG) CEO Andrew Formica has resigned as director and co-chief executive officer. Dick Weil will assume full control of the merged funds management company effective immediately. Mr Formica will stay on as advisor until the end of the year. Shares in Janus Henderson
(ASX:JHG) are down 7.71 per cent at $40.29
Clinical stage biotechnology company Patrys
(ASX:PAB) has been granted a European patent for its anti-cancer pre-clinical candidate PAT-LM1. The European patent is derived from one of a series of patent applications that have been submitted to cover the PAT-LM1 antibody. The claims in this patent cover its use in treating and diagnosing cancer. Shares in Patrys
(ASX:PAB) are trading up 4.55 per cent at $0.05
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector is materials adding 0.7 per cent to 12345 points while the worst performing sector is financials excluding REITS, is down 0.7 per cent to 7027 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is ALS
(ASX:ALQ), rising 9.1 per cent to $8.13, followed by shares in Saracen Mineral Holdings
(ASX:SAR) and Credit Corp Group
(ASX:CCP).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Janus Henderson Group
(ASX:JHG), dropping 7.7 per cent to $40.29, followed by shares in Beach Energy
(ASX:BPT) and Ardent Leisure Group
(ASX:AAD).
Asian markets – which are higher
Japan’s Nikkei has added 3.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has added 0.4 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has gained 0.2 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at $US1,224 an ounce.
One Australian dollar is buying 74.20 US cents.
CryptocurrenciesSome of the most traded cryptocurrencies are trading lower.
Bitcoin has fallen 6.9 per cent to US$7580,
Ethereum fallen about 7.8per cent to US$419
EOS has fallen about 7.22 per cent to US$7.13
