We saw the Aussie share market snap its four-day downward trend and push higher at the open, however, selling started to mount in over half of the sectors nad has taken the S&P/ASX 200 index to be 0.03 per cent lower/2 points lower at 6,159 point at noon. While on the futures market the SPI is 1 point higher.
From the outset, we had positive Wall Street leads with US equities back in fresh record territory, while oil price rallied overnight with the WTI price rising 2.6 per cent to 2019 highs, US$58.34. We saw the S&P 500 rise 0.7 per cent, notching its third day of gains, hitting a 2019 high, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.7 per cent and the Dow followed with Boeing shares starting to claw back.
Company newsBuy now pay later company, Zip Co
(ASX:Z1P) raised $42.8 million in an institutional placement, which was oversubscribed. The capital raised will be put towards accelerating growth initiatives and strengthening its balance sheet. Zip’s shareholders will also be given an opportunity to take part in a $5 million share purchase plan at $1.53 per share, with the ability to subscribe up to $15,000 in shares. Zip Co
(ASX:Z1P) shares are trading 1.8 per cent lower at $1.63 at noon.
Network service provider, Megaport
(ASX:MP1) also completed a capital raise, raising $50 million at $4.00 per share. The proceeds will be put towards expanding the business into new markets, for developing new technology and funding operating costs and general working capital. Megaport
(ASX:MP1) shares are trading 3.7 per cent lower at $4.04 at noon.
A small cap developing a new class of synthetic antibiotics, Recce Pharmaceuticals
(ASX:RCE) has been granted a US patent for its antibiotics. A key milestone for the company, as the US accounts for about half of the worlds antibiotic market, which is about US$42.33 billion in value. Shares in Recce Pharmaceuticals
(ASX:RCE) are trading 10 per cent higher at $0.17 at noon.
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector is S&P/ASX Energy, adding 1 per cent, while the worst performing sector is S&P/ASX Consumer Discretionary, shedding 0.7 per cent, while Kogan
(ASX:KGN) is bucking the trending and has gained 6.7 per cent after launching Kogan Marketplace, an online platform, while Myer
(ASX:MYR) is trading 4.8 per cent higher.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Lynas Corporation
(ASX:LYC), rising 5.1 per cent to $1.66, followed by shares in Beach Energy
(ASX:BPT) and Western Areas Limited
(ASX:WSA).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is G8 Education
(ASX:GEM), dropping 3.4 per cent to $3.16, followed by shares in Sigma Healthcare
(ASX:SPK) and Spark New Zealand
(ASX:SPK).
Commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at US$1,309 an ounce.
Iron ore price fell 0.6 per cent to US$84.78
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 0.9 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 70.82 US cents.
