It’s been a positive day of trade for the Australian share market. We’re seeing BHP Billiton
(ASX:BHP), CSL
(ASX:CSL), and Qantas
(ASX:QAN) all add. SpeedCast has seen a slide bringing the telecos down despite plans to acquire Globecomm systems. While iron ore price fell 1.8 per cent to $65.84 a tonne and its futures are pointing to a fall of 0.7 per cent. At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 36 points higher, or 0.6 per cent higher to finish at 6305.
Futures market Dow futures are suggesting a rise of 1 points.
S&P 500 futures are flat.
The Nasdaq futures are eyeing lift of 5 points.
And the ASX200 futures are eyeing a 36 point rise tomorrow.
The top three stocks by value were Westpac
(ASX:WBC) Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX:CBA) and BHP Billiton Limited
(ASX:BHP).
Company newsIT solutions company Speedcast International
(ASX:SDA) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Globecomm Systems Inc. They’re looking to buy from affiliates of HPS Investment Partners, LLC Tennenbaum Capital Partners, and certain other members of Globecomm for an estimated net purchase consideration of US$135 million. Globecomm is a leading provider of remote communications and multi-network infrastructure to Government, Maritime, and Enterprise sectors in over 100 countries. Shares in Speedcast International
(ASX:SDA) are down 37.5 per cent at $4.20.
Hearing solutions company Nuheara
(ASX:NUH) has today noted the sale of 23.3 million shares by interests associated with former Director, Michael Ottaviano. The purchaser, Farjoy Pty, becomes Nuheara’s largest shareholder with over 70 million shares which, following the completion of the acquisition, equates to a 7.9 per cent shareholding in Nuheara. The sale also marks a watermark for Nuheara, being the last major shareholding remaining from the Reverse Take-Over transaction of Wild Acres Metals in March 2016. Shares in Nuheara
(ASX:NUH) are trading 2.4 per cent lower at $0.08.
Exploration company AusQuest
(ASX:AQD) started preparations for the start of diamond drilling at the Cerro de Fierro Iron-Oxide Copper-Gold (IOCG) Project in southern Peru, with drill access preparations now underway. Diamond drilling is expected to begin by the end of next month and will test an IronOxide Copper-Gold (IOCG) target. Previous geological mapping and sampling found extensive copper mineralisation, returning numerous copper values.
Lithium major, Galaxy Resources
(ASX:GXY) inked a deal to sell a package of tenements for US$280 million to a South Korean steel-making company, POSCO. The proceeds will be used to advance its Sal de Vida project in Argentina, which is in the ‘lithium-triangle’ home to 60 per cent of the world’s annual production of lithium from brines. The transaction should settle in the fourth quarter with Galaxy retaining a 100 per cent interest in their tenements on the southern area of the Catamarca Province (Salar del Hombre Muerto).
And machine learning software company, Appen
(ASX:APX) reported its profit for the half-year ending 30 June 2018, rose 73 per cent to $14 million, while its revenues rose over 106 per cent to $152.8 million. Its dividend for the half year firmed 33 per cent higher compared to the same period last year, to 4 cents per share.
Best and worst performers of the dayThe best performing sector was Utlities adding 1.23 per cent while the worst performing sector was telcos, shedding 2.64 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Blackmores
(ASX:BKL), rising 11.5 per cent to close at $162. Shares in Bellamys Australia
(ASX:BAL) and Appen
(ASX:APX) followed higher.
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Speedcast International
(ASX:SDA), dropping 37.4 per cent to close at $4.20. Shares in Caltex
(ASX:CTX) and Nine Entertainment Co Holdings
(ASX:NEC) followed lower.
Asian marketsJapan’s Nikkei has added 0.1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 0.1 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has lost 0.2 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at $US1,216 an ounce.
Light crude is $0.13 down at $US68.74 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 73.26 US cents.
CryptocurrenciesSome of the most traded cryptocurrencies are trading higher Bitcoin has gained 2.9 per cent to US$6928, Ethereum has gained 2.6 per cent to US$286 and EOS has gained about 3.9per cent to US$5.37, in the last 24 hours.
