The Australian share market opened lower and continues to struggle. CSL
(ASX:CSL) has dragged the market. Big banks are mixed with Com bank
(ASX:CBA) and Westpac
(ASX:WBC) down and ANZ
(ASX:ANZ) and NAB
(ASX:NAB) up. As for the sectors – energy was up - BHP
(ASX:BHP) is higher. Healthcare was the worst performing index. Rare earths company Lynas
(ASX:LYC), dropped 18.3 per cent. Meanwhile, in the US tech giants Apple, Amazon and Facebook dragged down the broader market. And on Wednesday Federal Reserve meets it's expected to announce another interest rate hike, which is likely to drive down the Aussie dollar.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 0.1 per cent lower or 7 points down at 6188. On the futures market the SPI is 26 points higher.
Local economic newsNo news due for today – but on Wednesday, the Bureau of Statistics (ABS) releases the June quarter publication of Engineering Construction Activity. On Thursday they release the Finance & Wealth publication. Also on Thursday the latest data on job vacancies is issued by the ABS and finally on Friday The Reserve Bank issues the August Financial Aggregates publication.
Company news Tatts Group
(ASX:TTS) who became a wholly owned subsidiary of Tabcorp Holdings
(ASX:TAH) in December last year, have reported a drop in their Net profit after tax (NPAT) down 83.6 per cent from continuing operations for FY18 to $36.2million. Their NPAT was adversely impacted by merger costs of $42.3m and impairment expenses of $149 million incurred in relation to the Company’s UBET wagering brand. Revenue from continuing operations for FY18 was up 3.6 per cent. This was due to lotteries revenue up and a favourable jackpot sequence compared to the prior financial year. Digital sales increased. A Powerball game change was launched in April 2018 increasing prize frequency and opportunity for bigger jackpots, in line with consumer demand. Shares in Tabcorp Holdings
(ASX:TAH) 0.5 per cent higher at $4.88
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector is Energy adding 0.7 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Healthcare, shedding 0.8 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Metcash
(ASX:MTS), rising 3.1 per cent to $3.01, followed by shares in Seven West Media
(ASX:SWM) and Syrah Resources
(ASX:SYR).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Lynas
(ASX:LYC), dropping 18.3 per cent to $1.72, followed by shares in Sims Metal Management
(ASX:SGM) and St Barbara
(ASX:SBM).
Asian marketsJapan’s Nikkei is flat, the Shanghai Composite is closed due to the moon festival and Hong Kong's Hang Seng is 1.4 per cent lower.
Commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at US$1,197 an ounce.
Iron ore price fell 0.1 per cent to $69.13 a tonne.
One Australian dollar is buying 72.71 US cents.
CryptocurrenciesSome of the most traded cryptocurrencies are trading higher/lower/mixed. Bitcoin has gained 0.1 per cent to US$6709, Ethereum gained about 2.3 per cent to US$244 and XRP fallen about 0.3 per cent to US$0.57
