The Australian sharemarket slid today closing 61 points down, or 0.9 per cent lower at 6,697. Shares in Resmed
(ASX:RMD) did well today. Shares in Westgold Resources
(ASX:WGX) dropped along with Perseus Mining
(ASX:PRU).
FuturesThe Dow futures are suggesting a fall of 197 points. S&P 500 futures are eyeing a dip of 22 points. The Nasdaq futures are eyeing a fall of 53 points. And the SPI futures are eyeing a fall of 61 points tomorrow morning.
Local Economic NewsRetail sales have risen 7.1 per cent in November, surprising market expectations.
Company newsMesoblast
(ASX:MSB) reports that their rexlemestrocel-L drug has shown to be effective in a randomised controlled Phase 3 trial, with substantial and durable reductions in heart attacks, strokes, and cardiac deaths after a single dose. The trial involved 537 patients with chronic heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. The incidence of heart attacks and strokes were reduced by 60 per cent over a median follow-up period of 30 months following a single dose. Shares in Mesoblast
(ASX:MSB) closed 14.3 per cent higher at $2.56.
Splitit Payments
(ASX:SPT) has signed an agreement with Google in Japan allowing their customers to use instalment paymentsat the Google store.
Piedmont
(ASX:PLL) has invested 15.5 million to acquire 19.9 per cent of Sayona Mining and 25 per cent of Sayona Quebec.
Viva Leisure
(ASX:VVA) is set to acquire six Pinnacle Health Clubs in Victoria for a total consideration of between $6.05 million and $6.25 million.
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector is Energy gaining 0.7 per cent while the sector trailing behind was Information Technology dropping 2.2 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Mesoblast
(ASX:MSB) rising 14.3 per cent to $2.56, followed by shares in Resmed
(ASX:RMD) and Insurance Australia Group
(ASX:AIG).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Westgold Resources
(ASX:WGX) dropping 8.7 per cent to $2.43, followed by shares in Perseus Mining
(ASX:PRU) and Nearmap
(ASX:NEA).
Asian markets mixedJapan’s Nikkei is currently closed for a public holiday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is tracking 0.8 per cent higher and the Shanghai Composite is 0.04 per cent lower.
CommoditiesGold is trading at US$1,834 an ounce.
Iron ore price is steady at $169.52.
It’s futures are pointing to a fall of 2.2 per cent.
Light crude has shed $0.32 cents to $49.66.
One Australian dollar is buying 76.97US cents.
