Metals and miners up: ASX tracking 0.3% higher at noon

Market Reports

by Rachael Jones

The Australian share market fell at the open but rose in early trade and is now tracking 0.3 per cent higher at noon. Metals and miners are on the rise today as St Barbara (ASX:SBM), Saracen Mineral Holdings (ASX:SAR) and Resolute Mining (ASX:RSG) all saw their shares go up today. Shares in Speedcast (ASX:SDA) are still on the decline after they announced a lower expectation for their EBITDA for its full year. Investors will be watching Woolworths (ASX:WOW) shares after the decision to combine its pubs group ALH with its liquor arm Endeavour to create a new $10 billion company. The Utilities sector is leading the way and the Energy sector trailing behind.

The S&P/ASX 200 index is 23 points up at 6,676. On the futures market the SPI is 11 points higher/lower.

Local economic news

In trend terms, the balance on goods and services was a surplus of $6,089 million in May 2019, an increase of $169 million on the surplus in April 2019. This caused the Aussie dollar to lift slightly.

For Building Approvals - The number of dwellings approved in Australia fell by 0.5 per cent in May, in trend terms, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

Company news

Multi-boutique asset management firm, Pacific Current Group (ASX:PAC) increased its stake in Roc Partners. PAC has invested $6.8 million to increase its stake from 18 per cent to 30 per cent. Roc continues to grow its direct investment activity across their food and agribusiness and impact platforms. Shares in Pacific Current Group (ASX:PAC) are up 0.7 to $4.63.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Utilities adding 2 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Energy, shedding 1.8 per cent.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is St Barbara (ASX:SBM), rising 4 per cent to $3.11, followed by shares in Saracen Mineral Holdings (ASX:SAR) and Resolute Mining (ASX:RSG).

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Speedcast International (ASX:SDA), dropping 12.9 per cent to $1.79, followed by shares in Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) and Pinnacle Investment Management Group (ASX:PNI).

Asian markets

Japan’s Nikkei has lost 0.6 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has shed 0.3 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has lost 0.8 per cent.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,428 an ounce.
Iron ore price rose 1.7 per cent to US$125.77
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 1.12 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 69.91 US cents.

 

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