ASX opens lower, NAB up on $2.5bn buyback: Aus shares down 0.1% at noon

Market Reports

by Lauren Evans

The Australian share market dropped at the open and swam in negative territory. At noon, the ASX is tracking 0.1 per cent or 7.4 points lower at 7410. The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 19 points.

Several sectors are weighing on the index, with Utilities being the worst-performing sector.

Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) is down 9 per cent following the release of its Q2 results. Australia’s largest gas supplier APA Group (ASX:APA) is down 0.7 per cent.

Buy now, pay later providers are down. Afterpay (ASX:APT) is trading 3.5 per cent lower while Zip Co (ASX:Z1P) is 2.4 per cent lower. 

Health Care giants are amid the decliners. CSL (ASX:CSL) is down 1.2 per cent along with Sonic (ASX:SHO), down 0.4 per cent.

Energy suppliers Woodside Petroleum (ASX:WPL) and Santos (ASX:STO) are tracking 0.5 and 0.7 per cent lower, while Ampol (ASX:APL) is up 0.4 per cent following news it will deliver fast-charging bays for battery vehicles.

Onto banks, NAB (ASX:NAB) is up 0.3 per cent following news it will buy back 2.5 billion in shares, while Commonwealth (ASX:CBA) is up 0.3 per cent. Westpac is up 0.2 per cent. ANZ (ASX:ANZ) is down 0.1 per cent.

On a positive note, Materials are up 0.8 per cent, with mining giant BHP (ASX:BHP) trading 2.2 per cent higher.

NSW recorded 170 new Covid-19 cases, while Victoria recorded 3 new cases. 

Local economic news 

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released their 'Producer prices, Australia' statement. Final demand, excluding exports rose 0.7 per cent for this quarter and 2.2 per cent over the past twelve months.

Company news

Petroleum giant, Ampol (ASX:ALD) entered into a funding agreement with the Australian renewable energy agency (ARENA) to deliver a national fast charging network to support the uptake of battery electric vehicles in Australia.

National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) intends to buyback up to $2.5 billion of its ordinary shares on-market to manage its common equity tier 1 (CET1), towards its target range of 10.75–11.25 per cent.

Online wagering platform PointsBet (ASX:PBH), successfully completed a $215.1 million placement, supported by institutional investors.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Materials, up 0.8 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Utilities, down 2.4 per cent.

The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Janus Henderson Group (ASX:JHG), trading 6.6 per cent higher at $57.20. It is followed by shares in Waypoint REIT (ASX:WPR) and Orocobre (ASX:ORE).

The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Origin Energy (ASX:ORG), trading 8.4 per cent lower at $4.08. It is followed by shares in Redbubble (ASX:RBL) and Orica (ASX:ORI).

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1827.96 an ounce.
Iron ore is 3.3 per cent lower at US$196.06 a ton.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 4.8 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 73.89 US cents.
 

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