Despite a ninth straight win on Wall Street, the Australian share market has struggled to stay out the red as resource stocks weigh heavily at midday.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 16 points weaker at 5,077. On the futures market the SPI is down 23 points.
Economic news
Labour force figures, released by the ABS, leave the nation’s unemployment rate steady at 5.4 per cent. Total jobs rose 71, 500 over February.
Company news
The decision to settle a class action, has hammered Sigma Pharmaceutical Limited’s
(ASX:SIP), dragging it down by 60%. Full year profit slumped to $18.7 million, weighed down by legal settlement costs of $57.5 million. Sigma shares are 3.15% firmer at 66 cents.
Computershare Limited
(ASX:CPU) has sold its stake, of more than 8 million shares, in Canadian software company Solium for $27.6 million. Shares in Computershare are trading at 1.23% firmer at $10.72.
Best and worst performers The best performing sector is Health, gaining 93 points to 12,664. Shares in Ramsay Health care
(ASX:RHC) have risen 4.22 per cent and are trading at $32.11. Shares in Sigma
(ASX:SIP) and Sonic Health
(ASX:SHL) are also standouts.
The worst performing sector at midday is materials, falling 149 points to 10,228. Shares in Iluka
(ASX:ILU) have fallen 4.04 per cent, to be trading at $9.50. Shares in Atlas Iron
(ASX:AGO) and Beadell resources
(ASX:BDR) are also lower.
Gold and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,587 an ounce.
The Australian dollar is buying $US1.036.
