The Australian sharemarket has bounced back from morning lows despite US markets plunging after Donald Trump tweeted he would halt stimulus talks until after the election. At noon the ASX is 0.4 per cent or 22 points higher 5984 SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 30 points The local market seems to be riding high on the back of last night’s federal budget and the prospect of further monetary policy stimulus following the RBA meeting yesterday. Among the major banks CBA is up 0.8 per cent while Westpac has risen 0.3 per cent. ARB Corporation is among the top performers after a jump in sales and Virgin Money UK is also higher after announcing it will cut up to 400 jobs in Britain in the coming six months. Meanwhile AGL is 1.4 per cent lower after a profit warning. And The major gold miners are weighing on the market
Company newsThe inquiry into Crown Resorts
(ASX:CWN) is continuing today and former Chairman James Packer said he was extremely upset and that Crown's former CEO Rowen Craigie and director Rob Rankin had let him down. Shares in Crown are almost 2 per cent higher at $8.90.
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector is consumer discretionary gaining 1.4 per cent, while the worst performing sector is materials losing 0.6 per cent. The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is AP Eagers
(ASX:APE) rising 4.5 per cent to $11.07, followed by shares in Virgin Money UK
(ASX:VUK) and ARB Corporation
(ASX:ARB) The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Newcrest Mining
(ASX:NCM) dropping 2.99 per cent lower to $30.13, followed by shares in Resolute Mining
(ASX:RSG) and Rameius Resources
(ASX:RMS).
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1,878 an ounce.
Iron ore futures are suggesting a rise of 4.99 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 71.06 US cents.
