The local share market has finished a choppy session in the green recouping some of its losses from Friday. But there could be more volatility ahead this week as investors gear up for tomorrow’s RBA rate decision and the US election. The S&P/ASX200 rose 24 points or 0.4 per cent to 5951. AMP jumped 9.8 per cent after a proposed takeover offer from Ares Management was valued at $1.85 a share. Gains from the likes of ANZ, NAB and Sydney Airport helped push the market higher. While market heavyweight CSL went the other way shedding 0.5 per cent. Westpac dropped 0.6 per cent after its full-year profit missed the mark.
Local economic newsBuilding approvals rose 15.4 per cent in September, according to the latest figures from the ABS. It comes after a 1.6 per cent decline over August.
FuturesThe Dow futures are suggesting a rise of 47 points. S&P 500 futures are eyeing a drop of lift of 12 points. The Nasdaq futures are eyeing a lift of 36 points. And the SPI futures are eyeing a rise of 45 points tomorrow morning
Broker callsCredit Suisse has upgraded Resmed
(ASX:RMD) to outperform from neutral. The investment bank says the medical equipment company is uniquely placed to benefit from a shift to home health care post the pandemic. Double-digit earnings growth is forecast over the medium term and the target price is $31.00 Shares in Resmed
(ASX:RMD) closed 1.6 per cent lower at $27.14.
IPO’sCandle maker Dusk
(ASX:DSK) debuted on the ASX today. It issued at $2.00 started trading at $1.61 and its currently at $1.69.
Company newsThink Childcare
(ASX:TNK) has upped its earnings guidance and said enrolments and attendance had recovered to be at or above pre-COVID-19 levels in all states with the exception of Victoria, though that state was also experiencing signs of recovery.
The company increased its underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation guidance for calendar year 2020 from between $15m and $17m, to between $22m and $23m, saying that the impacts of COVID-19 continued to dissipate. Shares in Think Childcare closed 5.9 per cent higher at $1.07.
Property group Abacus
(ASX:ABP) has taken full control of the Storage King operating platform by buying out a 75 per cent interest in the business in a $50 million dollar deal. Shares in Abacus
(ASX:ABP) closed 2,9 per cent higher at $2.85.
Seek
(ASX:SEK) has told the market Blue Orca's activist short report makes "many inaccurate statements" and "allegations of a very serious nature that are unsubstantiated" The short seller has issued a rebuttal questioning how the company can reconcile the cash generative qualities of its Zhaopin businesses with the increase in its borrowings.
Westpac's
(ASX:WBC) annual profit has slumped by two-thirds after it was fined $1.3 billion for 23 million breaches of money laundering laws.
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector is utilities gaining 2 per cent while the energy sector fell behind shedding 1.1 per cent. The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was AMP
(ASX:AMP) rising 9.8 per cent to $1.68, followed by shares in CSR
(ASX:CSR) and Boral
(ASX:BLD) The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Avita Therapeutics
(ASX:AVH) dropping 5.1 per cent lower to $5.63 , followed by shares in Polynovo
(ASX:PNV) and SkyCity Entertainment
(ASX:SKC).
Asian marketsMixed: Japan’s Nikkei has gained 1.4 per cent Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is tracking almost 1 per cent higher and the Shanghai Composite has shed 0.2 per cent.
CommoditiesGold is trading at US$1,883 an ounce.
Iron ore has gained 1.3 per to $117.49
Iron ore futures are suggesting a rise of 1.6 per cent.
Light crude has shed 1$1.30 cents to $34.49
One Australian dollar is buying 70.09 US cents.
