The Australian share market has closed slightly lower today with Lynas Corp
(ASX:LYC) and Sims metals
(ASX:SGM) dragging it down. The Healthcare index was the worst performer. Real estate was leading the market - up 0.7 per cent. Big gains were in Pilbara Minerals
(ASX:PLS) and Ausdrill
(ASX:ASL) In other markets some Asian exchanges are closed today for Autumn festivals. At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.1 per cent lower or 8 points down to finish at 6187.
Futures marketDow futures are suggesting a fall of 59 points.
S&P 500 futures are eyeing a dip of 7 points.
The Nasdaq futures are eyeing fall of 32 points.
And the ASX200 futures are eyeing a 26 point rise tomorrow.
Economic newsOn Wednesday, the 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 Rare earth company Lynas Corporation
(ASX:LYC) released a statement today noting the media speculation in Malaysia regarding a potential government review of Lynas’ Malaysian operations. Lynas say 97 per cent of their staff and 71 per cent of their management staff are Malaysian. And they have made capital investment in Malaysia in excess of 3 billion Malaysian Ringgits in plant and equipment and our annual expenditure in Malaysia is over 500 million Ringgits.
Shares in Lynas Corporation
(ASX:LYC) closed 18.3 per cent lower at $1.72
Tegel Group Holdings
(ASX:TGH) is pleased to confirm that the Overseas Investment Office approval for Bounty Holdings New Zealand’s acquisition of the company has been granted under the Overseas Investment Act. The Bounty Offer to acquire all your ordinary shares in Tegel has been declared unconditional.
Shares in Tegel Group Holdings
(ASX:TGH) closed 4.8 per cent higher at $1.10
Clean TeQ Holdings
(ASX:CLQ) will join forces with Ionic Industries to further develop a graphene-oxide based water filtration membrane. The companies have been working in collaboration with Monash University to develop, manufacture and apply graphene oxide membranes for water filtration applications.
Bio tech company Immutep
(ASX:IMM) has inked a deal with Pharmaceutical giants Merck and Pfizer to collaborate on an early stage clinical trial of its treatment for cancer. The agreement comes six months after the company joined forces with Merck to trial a combination of drugs to treat various cancers.
Ainsworth Game Technology
(ASX:AGI) has today announced that CEO Danny Gladstone will step down at the end of the next financial year. He will continue in the CEO position and assist with the search until a replacement is found.
Best and worst performers The best performing sector was Real Estate Investments Trust adding 0.7 per cent while the worst performing sector was Healthcare shedding 0.9 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Pilbara Minerals
(ASX:PLS), rising 5.1 per cent to close at $0.93. Shares in Ausdrill
(ASX:ASL) and Metcash
(ASX:MTS) followed higher.
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Lynas Corp
(ASX:LYC), dropping 18.3 per cent to close at $1.72. Shares in Sims Metal Management
(ASX:SGM) and St Barbara
(ASX:SBM) followed lower.
Asian marketsMixed:Japan’s Nikkei has added 0.8 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng trading 1.3 per cent lower and the Shanghai Composite is closed due to a public holiday
Commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at US$1,195 an ounce.
Iron ore price fell 0.1 per cent to US$69.13
Light crude is US$0.46 up at US$70.78 barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 72.65 US cents.
CryptocurrenciesSome of the most traded cryptocurrencies are trading mixed: Bitcoin has fallen 0.5 per cent to US$6888, Ethereum has gained 0.2 per cent to US$240 and XRP has fallen about 2 per cent to US$0.57.
