The Australian share market has edged lower at midday, after a drop at open.
The S&P/ASX 200 index has lost 9 points and is 4,230. On the futures market the SPI is 18 points lower.
Company news
Lynas Corporation Limited
(ASX:LYC) has been placed in a trading halt until Wednesday ahead of a funding transaction it’s expected to announce. Shares last traded at $1.28. It soared more than nine per cent on Friday, on market speculation Malaysia was about to grant the company a temporary licence.
Ansell Limited
(ASX:ANN) is set to distribute its products, like safety gloves and condoms, through Koreca Industries in the Republic of Korea.
The company says the multi-year agreement includes an option to make equity investments in its distributor in stages over several years.
Ansell shares are 0.67 per cent higher at $15.07.
Best and worst performers
Telco Services is up 5 points to 1,141. Shares Telstra are up 0.3 per cent at $3.34. Shares in iiNet Enerji are flat.
The worst performing sector is healthcare, losing 56 points to 7,908. Shares in Agenix are 7.69 per cent lower, trading at 1.2 cents. Sigma and CSL are also lower.
New Zealand
The NZSX50 is 4 points higher. Taking a look at the top four stocks by turnover, Telecom Corporation of New Zealand is at the top of the list with stock up 0.48 per cent to $2.085, followed by Chorus, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Transpacific Industries.
Gold and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,664.66 an ounce and the Australian dollar is buying $US1.0472.
