Retail turnover rose 0.3 in Oct: ASX 0.62 per cent lower at noon

Australian shares opened lower and continued to fall throughout the morning. At 11:30 the Australian Bureau of Statistics released figures for retails sales showing a rise for October and figures for international trade in goods and services causing shares to dip further. Meanwhile the Real Estate Investment Trusts sector is leading the way and the Materials sector trailing behind. Afterpay Touch Group (ASX:APT) and Pendal Group (ASX:PDL) are down. Automotive Holdings Group (ASX:AHG) have risen. The S&P/ASX 200 index is 0.62 per cent lower or 35 points down at 5633. On the futures market the SPI is 37 points lower.

Local economic news

Australian retail turnover rose 0.3 per cent in October 2018, seasonally adjusted, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Retail Trade figures. This follows a rise of 0.1 per cent in September 2018.

For International Trade in Goods and Services - In trend terms, the balance on goods and services was a surplus of $2,709m in October 2018, an increase of $182m on the surplus in September 2018.

Company news

The Inabox (ASX:IAB) board unanimously continues to recommend the improved MNF (ASX:MNF) transaction in the absence of a superior proposal and expresses concerns about the improved SB&G takeover offer. They released a statement today saying the answers received from SB&G in response to the company’s questions do not adequately address a number of important concerns raised by Inabox. SB&G Telecoms submitted its second takeover offer on Monday, raising its offer from 90 cents to 95 cents for each Inabox share it doesn't already own. SB&G already owns a 19.9 percent stake in the company. Shares in Inabox (ASX:IAB) last traded $1

Best and worst performers

The best performing sector is Real Estate Investment Trusts adding 1.7 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Materials, shedding 1.6 per cent.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Automotive Holdings Group (ASX:AHG), rising 4.8 per cent to $1.65, followed by shares in Computershare (ASX:CPU) and Primary Healthcare (ASX:HLS).

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Pendal Group (ASX:PDL),dropping 5.4 per cent to $8.07, followed by shares in AfterPay Touch Group (ASX:APT) and Altium (ASX:ALU).

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,240 an ounce.
Iron ore price rose 0.3 per cent to US$ 67.38 and its futures are pointing to a rise of 0.3 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 72.35 US cents.