The Australian share market fell 1 per cent today, taking us back to where we were in July, after the Australian dollar hit a 2.5 year low. It comes despite receiving better than expected economic news today.
Leading the drag today, miners, on the back of the Argentinian government putting a tax on exports in an attempt to stem its crisis.
At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 1 per cent 63 points at 6,230
Futures market Dow futures are suggesting a fall of 49 points.
S&P 500 futures are eyeing a dip of 6 points.
The Nasdaq futures are eyeing fall of 21 points.
And the ASX200 futures are eyeing a 20 point fall tomorrow.
Economic newsAustralia’s economy grew at 0.9 per cent in June quarter, beating the expected 0.7 per cent rise.
Over the year the economy grew 3.4 per cent, beating consensus forecasts of a 2.8 per cent lift.
Company news Orocobre
(ASX:ORE) has been advised that the Ministry of Economy in Argentina introduced a temporary tax. It will impact its own Argentina exports and exports from its majority-owned (66.5 per cent) subsidiary in the country, at a rate of AR$3 (Argentine Pesos) for every US$1 up to 31 December 2020. That equates to about 8 per cent of revenue from its Argentinian SDJ and Borax projects. Shares in Orocobre
(ASX:ORE) closed 12.98 per cent lower at $3.62
BHP
(ASX:BHP) has inked a deal to acquire a 6.1 per cent stake in SolGold, the majority owner and operator of the Cascabel copper-gold project in Equador. BHP’s CEO Andrew Mackenzie says it gives the company exposure to a high-quality copper exploration project in Ecuador which is a highly prospective location for BHP. Under the agreement, BHP will snap up 103.1 million shares in SolGold.
Industrial minerals company Syrah Resources
(ASX:SYR) completed a $94 million institutional placement and plans to use the funds to ramp up its Balama graphite project.
Downer EDI
(ASX:DOW) has secured a five-year mining contract extension by Millmerran Power Partners worth $286 million.
Best and worst performers of the dayThe best performing sector was Real Estate Investment Trusts adding 0.04 per cent while the worst performing sector was Materials, shedding 2 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Sigma Healthcare Limited
(ASX:SIG), rising 5.2 per cent to close at $0.60. Shares in Reliance Worldwide Corporation Limited
(ASX:RWC) and Vocus Group Limited
(ASX:VOC) followed higher.
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Orocobre Limited
(ASX:ORE), dropping 13 per cent to close at $3.62. Shares in Sims Metal Management Limited
(ASX:SGM) and Western Areas Limited
(ASX:WSA) followed lower.
Asian marketsLower: Japan’s Nikkei has lost 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 2.2 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has lost 1.1 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at $US1,194 an ounce.
Iron ore price gained 0.9 per cent to US$66.62 and its futures are flat.
Light crude is $0.43 lower at $US69.37 barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 71.78 US cents.
CryptocurrenciesBitcoin has gained 1.2 per cent to US$7,369 and Ethereum has fallen 0.6 per cent to US$284.
