The Australian share market remained in positive territory throughout the day. At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.8 per cent or 57 points higher at 7,309.
Health care, miners and banks were among the gainers, with strong momentum throughout the day. Health Care giant CSL
(ASX:CSL) closed 1.2 per cent higher at $290.13, followed by Sonic Health Care
(ASX:SHL), 1.2 per cent higher at $40.7.
Mining giant Rio Tinto
(ASX:RIO) closed 1.2 per cent higher following news it will assess legacy impacts of its Panguna copper mine. Fortescue Metals
(ASX:FMG) closed 0.6 per cent higher, followed by BHP
(ASX:BHP), 1.4 per cent higher. South32
(ASX:S32) closed 0.7 per cent higher following the release of its June quarter results.
On to Banks, ANZ
(ASX:ANZ) led the pack, closing 1.5 per cent higher. NAB
(ASX:NAB) closed 1.2 per cent higher, followed by Westpac
(ASX:WBC), 0.9 per cent higher, and Commonwealth
(ASX:CBA), 0.8 per cent higher.
The Real Estate sector continued to push ahead with Lendlease
(ASX:LLC) closing 2.4 per cent higher at $11.67, following an agreement with Service Stream
(ASX:SSM) for the sale of its Services business for $310 million. Goodman Group
(ASX:GMG) closed 0.9 per cent higher.
The best-performing stock was Pilbara Minerals
(ASX:PLS) and the worst-performing stock was Altium
(ASX:ALU), closing 5.04 per cent.
NSW has recorded 110 new COVID-19 cases and Victoria has recorded 22 cases.
Economic news The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its preliminary retail trade figures for June. Australian retail turnover fell 1.8 per cent for June 2021. Victoria 3.5 per cent decline led the state falls in June, with the impact of the state’s fourth lockdown more pronounced in June than May. New South Wales and Queensland declined due to stay-at-home restrictions and reduced interstate mobility.
Company newsPlease join us for Stocks of the Hour
here Mining company South32
(ASX:S32) released their results for the June quater 2021. The company announced a record annual production at Worsley Alumina, Brazil Alumina and Australian Manganese.
Atlas Arteria
(ASX:ALX) released their toll revenue and traffic statistics for the June Quarter 2021 (Q2 2021). Weighted average traffic was 68.5 per cent higher and weighted average toll revenue was 57.3 per cent higher for Q2 2021 than Q2 2020.
Infratil's
(ASX:IFT) Morrison & Co Chairman, Rob Morrison has announced that Marko Bogoievski will be stepping down as Chief Executive at the end of the year and will be replaced by the current head of Australia and New Zealand, Paul Newfield.
Mining giant Rio Tinto
(ASX:RIO) and Bougainville community members have reached an agreement to identify and assess legacy impacts of the former Panguna copper mine in Bougainville.
Lendlease
(ASX:LLC) has announced it has entered into an agreement with Service Stream
(ASX:SSM) for the sale of its Services business for $310 million.
Australian Strategic Materials
(ASX:ASM) has entered into a conditional exclusive framework agreement with a consortium of South Korean investors to subscribe for a 20 per cent equity interest in Australian Strategic Materials Holdings (ASMH) for a subscription price of US$250 million.
FuturesThe Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 16 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 2 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 4 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 63 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector was Health Care, up 1.1 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Industrials, down 0.7 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Pilbara Minerals
(ASX:PLS), closing 5.5 per cent higher at $1.54. It was followed by shares in Cimic Group
(ASX:CIM) and PointsBet Holdings
(ASX:PBH).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Altium
(ASX:ALU), closing 5.04 per cent lower at $32.81. It was followed by shares in HUB24
(ASX:HUB) and Beach Energy
(ASX:BPT).
Asian marketsJapan's Nikkei has gained 0.5 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 0.7 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.7 per cent.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1812.70 an ounce.
Iron ore is flat at US$221.04 a ton.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 2.1 per cent.
Light crude is trading $0.25 lower at US$66.95 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 72.98 US cents.
