After a promising start to the day, the share market slipped at noon and the finished the day down 0.42 per cent, pulled down by the healthcare and real estate investment trusts sectors. The S&P/ASX200 Index lost 17 points to close at 4,591 while for the week it was 83 points higher. On the futures market, the SPI is down 15 points.
US
On Wall Street, the DOW Jones Industrial Average was up 480 points over the four trading days this week. The S&P 500 Index was up 52 points, NASDAQ gained 120 and the 100 Index gained 108 points.
Company news
Suncorp (ASX:SUN) said it was satisfied with the outcome of recent reinsurance negotiations, given the number of natural disasters since 2010. The insurance company confirmed placement today of its property catastrophe reinsurance program for the new financial year, providing cover of up to $90 million per Australian event. Shares in Suncorp (ASX:SUN) closed 0.25 per cent higher at $8.16.
Leighton’s (ASX:LEI) John Holland was today named as the winning contractor for a $1.2 billion new children’s hospital in Perth. John Holland will deliver $800 million worth of design and construction work. Shares in Leighton (ASX:LEI) ended the day 0.86 per cent lower at $20.67 cents.
Shipbuilder Austal (ASX:ASB) has received a hefty order from the US Navy – to build two new Joint High Speed Vessels as part of a 10-vessel program worth more than $1.5 billion.
And Lynas (ASX:LYC) shares took a dive today despite the rare earth supplier denying reports that a planned Malaysian plant would be delayed by up to two years.
Sectors
To the best and worst performers, telco services was the best performing sector today, rising 10 points to close at 1,003. The worst performing sector was health care, dropping 98 points to close at 8,453 points.
Stocks
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX200 was Eastern Star Gas (ASX:ESG) shares gained 5.79 cent to close at 64 cents. Shares in Bow Energy (ASX:ELD) and Transpacific Industries (ASX:TPI) also ended the week higher.
The worst performing stock was Lynas (ASX:LYC), losing 11.62 per cent to close at $1.75. Shares in Sundance (ASX:SDL) and Jb Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) also closed lower today.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,499 an ounce and is down 67 cents on the week. Light crude is down 84 cents at $US94.58 a barrel. The Australian dollar is trading at US$1.0724, which is up 2.31 cents.
