The Australian share market opened lower and failed to gain momentum. At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 1.3% or 92 point lower at 6,794 points. Over the week, we closed 0.2 per cent or 13 points lower.
FuturesDow futures are suggesting a fall of 8 points.
S&P 500 futures are pointing to a dip of 7 points.
The Nasdaq futures are looking at a drop of 62 points.
SPI futures pointing to a rise of 4 points tomorrow morning.
Economic newsAustralian Bureau of Statistics report the seasonally adjusted estimate for retail trade in January rose 0.6 per cent following a fall of 4.1 per cent in December. Australian turnover rose 10.7 per cent in January 2021 compared with January 2020. All states and territories rose, except for Queensland. New South Wales led the rises, up 1 per cent as Greater Sydney saw Covid-19 restrictions eased in January.
Company newsGoodman Group
(ASX:GMG) reports a 16 per cent increase in their operating profit to $614.9 million for the six months ending December 2020, compared to the prior corresponding period. The shift to global online sales increased by 30 per cent and the company leased an additional 1.9 million square metres bringing in $269 million of annual rental property income across the Group and Partnerships. The company will pay an interim dividend of 15 cents per share to be paid this month. Shares in Goodman Group
(ASX:GMG) closed 1.4 per cent higher at $17.22.
Cochlear
(ASX:COH) report strong growth in the US, Japan, Korea and China, improving momentum in Western Europe, and a slower recovery across most emerging markets. Statutory net profit for the half is $236.2 million, benefiting from a number of one-off gains.
Jewellery and accessories company Lovisa
(ASX:LOV) saw profit for second half 2020, down 22.6 per cent to $21.5 million compared to the last half.Revenue was $146.9 million, down 9.8 per cent with Q1 heavily impacted by temporary store closures in Victoria, Australia, as well as weakness in most global markets.
Buy now, pay later company Sezzle
(ASX:SZL) have signed a deal with US digital bank, Discover Global Network offering consumers additional payment options.
OceanaGold
(ASX:OGC) has a reported a loss of US$150.4 million compared to a $14.5 million profit a year ago.
Woodside Energy
(ASX:WPL) Trading Singapore has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with German company, RWE Supply & Trading, for the supply of liquefied natural gas for a term of seven years starting in 2025.
Best and worst performers of the dayThe best performing sector was Consumer Staples adding 0.2 per cent higher while the worst performing sector was Energy losing 3.6 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Cochlear
(ASX:COH) rising 8.4 per cent to $221.68 followed by shares in ZipCo
(ASX:Z1P) and Crown Resorts
(ASX:CWN).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is IPH
(ASX:IPH) falling 6.4 per cent to $6.29. Shares in Treasury Wine
(ASX:TWE) and Pointsbet
(ASX:PBH) followed lower.
Asian markets Japan’s Nikkei has lost 0.95 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost almost 0.9 per cent while Shanghai Composite has gained 0.3 per cent.
Wall StOver the last four trading days, shares in Wall St finished mostly lower. The Dow Jones gained 0.1 per cent, S&P500 lost 0.5 per cent while the NASDAQ lost 1.7 per cent.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1,770 an ounce.
Iron Ore is trading 4.9 per cent higher at US$175.05 a ton.
Its futures are pointing to a fall of 1.5 per cent.
Light crude is US 53 cents lower at US$55.57 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 77.73 US cents.
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