It has been a positive day of trade for the Australian share market closing 1 per cent higher. Meal kit business Marley Spoon
(ASX:MMM) shares are soaring, after Woolworths
(ASX:WOW) took a 9 per cent stake. Syrah Resources
(ASX:SYR) saw their share price drop today after the graphite miner released an update downgrading production guidance for its second quarter performance. Graincorp's
(ASX:GNC) shares are on the rise after insuring themselves against South Australia's poor grain harvests. The Materials sector is leading the way and the Consumer Discrectionary sector trailing behind.
At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 61 points higher to finish at 6,444.
Futures marketDow futures are suggesting a rise of 40 points.
S&P 500 futures are eyeing a rise of 4 points.
The Nasdaq futures are eyeing a lift of 8 points.
And the ASX200 futures are eyeing a 57 point rise Monday morning.
Economic newsConstruction rates across Australia had their sharpest falls in six years in May as the building of houses and apartments slowed and jobs in the sector continued to trail off, according to a the Australian Industry Group. Overall activity slipped 2.2 points on the previous month to 40.4 - an accelerated decline below the 50-point mark.
The value of new lending commitments to households rose 0.6 per cent in April 2019, seasonally adjusted, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures on new lending to households and businesses.
The rise in new lending to households in April follows a 3.3 per cent fall in March 2019.
Company news Woolworths Group
(ASX:WOW) has entered into a $30 million strategic partnership with meal kit provider Marley Spoon
(ASX:MMM). The partnership will see both companies working collaboratively to grow subscription-based Marley Spoon and the Dinnerly brands in Australia. Fabian Siegel CEO of Marley Spoon says “As grocery spending shifts to online, home-delivered meal kits will play an increasingly large role in helping consumers save time with their weeknight meals. Shares in Woolworths Group
(ASX:WOW) Closed 0.6 per cent higher at $ 31.51.
DuluxGroup
(ASX:DLX) announces that the Foreign Investment Review Board (‘FIRB’) has today confirmed to Nippon Paint Holdings Co. that the Commonwealth has no objection to Nippon Paint’s proposed acquisition of 100 per cent of the issued shares of DuluxGroup. As a result, the condition of the proposed Scheme relating to FIRB approval has now been satisfied. Shares in the DuluxGroup
(ASX:DLX) closed 0.2 per cent higher to $9.74.
Vicinity Centres
(ASX:VCX) have reported an overall estimated portfolio net valuation decline of 1.3 per cent, predominantly impacted by declines in the Western Australian portfolio and pre-development centres. That's a decline of $202 million for the six month period to 30 June 2019
Creso Pharma
(ASX:CPH) is set to be acquired by PharmaCielo, a Toronto listed cannabis company. PharmaCielo is a fully licensed producer of medicinal cannabis oil products in Colombia and is the largest cannabis producer in Colombia.
IPOViva Leisure
(ASX:VVA) started trading today, Australia's first dedicated health club to do so. Their issue price was $1:00, opened at $1:15 and closed at $1:08. They operate 33 gyms in NSW and ACT under the brands Club Lime and Hiit Republic.
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector was Materials adding 1.4 per cent while the worst performing sector, and the only sector in the red was Consumer Discretionary, shedding 0.2 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Graincorp
(ASX:GNC) rising 6 per cent to close at $8.17. Shares in Beach Energy
(ASX:BPT) and Magellan Financial Group
(ASX:MFG) followed higher.
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Resolute Mining
(ASX:RSG), dropping 7.7 per cent to close at $1.02. Shares in Syrah Resources
(ASX:SYR) and Flight Centre Travel Group
(ASX:FLT)Asian marketsJapan’s Nikkei has added 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite were closed.
Wall StreetDow gained 3.5 per cent, S&P gained 3.2 per cent and the NASDAQ has gained 2.1 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at US$1,332 an ounce.
Iron ore price rose 0.2 per cent to US$100.60
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 0.8 per cent.
Light crude is US$1.50 up at US$53.18 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 69.72 US cents.
