The ASX200 opened flat this morning following negative leads from the US and bearish sentiment caused by global economic growth concerns. The Australian share market is now tracking 0.7 per cent lower at noon. All sectors except for Healthcare are in the red with Energy and Consumer Staples weighing heaviest on the market. Shares in aged care provider Estia Health
(ASX:EHE) took a hit this morning after their increase in EBITDA for the full year 2019 come in below expectations.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 44 points down at 6,448. On the futures market the SPI is 36 points lower.
Broker movesCiti has downgraded the Woolworths Group
(ASX:WOW) to a sell with a 12-month price target of $28.75 and downgraded the Coles Group
(ASX:COL) to a neutral with a target price of $13.00. This follows Citi's analysis that competition is likely to intensify when German discount supermarket chain Kaufland enters the Australian market in 2021. Shares in Woolworths Group
(ASX:WOW) are trading 3.1 per cent lower at $32.56. Shares in Coles Group
(ASX:COL) are trading 2.1 per cent lower at $12.60.
Company newsExplorer and mine developer Myanmar Metals
(ASX:MYL) has completed its $20.8 million placement. The placement to eligible institutional and sophisticated investors was well supported with 319.9 million fully paid ordinary shares in the Company issued at a price of $0.065 per share. Myanmar Metals received binding commitments from its existing major shareholders, Perilya and Yandal, for a combined $7.4 million. Shares in Myanmar Metals
(ASX:MYL) are trading flat at 7 cents.
Firstwave Cloud Technology
(ASX:FCT) has on-boarded African headquartered tier 1 service provider, Telecel RCA. The contract was secured by Firstwave's reseller, SHELT Global and is the first onboarding under the recent reseller agreement with SHELT. The company says 'the win and other opportunities underpin the current forecast of year one revenue for the Middle East and Africa region of an estimated $2 million". Shares in Firstwave Cloud Technology
(ASX:FCT) are trading flat at 32 cents.
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector is Health Care, adding 0.3 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Energy, shedding 3 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Syrah Resources
(ASX:SYR), rising 3.9 per cent to $1.21, followed by shares in Ansell
(ASX:ANN) and Domino's Pizza Enterprises
(ASX:DMP).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Galaxy Resources
(ASX:GXY),dropping 5.1 per cent to $1.59, followed by shares in Beach Energy
(ASX:BPT) and Pilbara Minerals
(ASX:PLS).
Asian marketsAsian markets are trading mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is up 0.5 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite has gained 0.5 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at US$1,283 an ounce.
Iron ore price fell 1.9 per cent to US$103.79.
One Australian dollar is buying 68.92 US cents.
