RBA suggest pushing rates towards 0%: ASX tracking 0.9% lower at noon

TEXT ONLY

The Australian share market dropped at the open and is now tracking 0.9 per cent lower at noon. Shares in Collins Foods (ASX:CKF) did well today, leading the pack as Virgin Money (ASX:VUK) shares dropped throughout the morning. As for the sectors, Infotech is up and Materials is pulling the market lower.

The S&P/ASX 200 index 

The S&P/ASX 200 index is 50 points down at 5,773. On the futures market the SPI is suggesting a fall of 0.9 per cent.

Local economic news

Guy Debelle, Deputy Governor of the Reserve bank of Australia says “We are now in a gradual and uneven recovery”. He says, a lower exchange rate for the Australian dollar would definitely be beneficial for the Australian economy, so they are continuing to watch developments in the foreign exchange market carefully. He also mentioned lowering the current structure of rates in the economy a little more without going into negative territory and buying longer term bonds.

Payroll jobs in Australia fell by 0.4 per cent from August 22 to September 5, according to experimental data from the taxation office and Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Company news

Redcape Hotel Group Management Ltd (ASX:RDC) reported the positive trading has continued and the first quarter of FY21 will deliver an Operating forecast EBITDA ahead of the equivalent period in FY20, even if JobKeeper were excluded. As a result, the Group has forecast Operating EBITDA of $24 million compared to $19.5 million in the same corresponding period. They announced a distribution of 1.83 cents per stapled security for the first quarter ending 30 September 2020. Shares in Redcape Hotel Group Management Ltd (ASX:RDC) are currently 3.3 per cent lower at $0.88.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Infotech up 2.03 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Materials losing 2.5 per cent.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Collins Foods (ASX:CKF) rising 4.5 per cent to $10.46, followed by shares in Xero (ASX:XRO) and Appen (ASX:APX).

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Virgin Money (ASX:VUK) dropping 8.09 per cent to $1.28, followed by shares in Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) and Perseus Mining (ASX:PRU).

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,913 an ounce.
Iron ore price is 4.1 per cent down at US$119.82.
Iron ore futures are suggesting a fall of 1.6 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 72.15US cents.