The Australian share market staged a comeback in the afternoon trade, despite a volatile day. At the closing bell, the ASX was 0.4 per cent or 27 points higher at 7,538. Over the week, it closed 1.9 per cent or 146 points higher, its best performance since May.
Miners continued to weigh on the index after iron ore prices tumbled over night. Meanwhile, Afterpay surged in the Tech sector.
After a staggering week with Squares bid to purchase Afterpay
(ASX:APT), the buy now, pay later giant closed 5.4 per cent higher at $132. Zip Co
(ASX:Z1P) closed 2.2 per cent higher.
Banks were among the gainers, apart from the Commonwealth
(ASX:CBA), which closed flat. Westpac
(ASX:WBC) closed 0.7 per cent higher, ANZ
(ASX:ANZ) closed 0.6 per cent higher and NAB
(ASX:NAB) closed 0.3 per cent higher.
Mining giant BHP
(ASX:BHP) fell 2.3 per cent at the closing bell. Rio Tinto
(ASX:RIO) closed 1.7 per cent lower and Fortescue Metals
(ASX:FMG) closed 1.1 per cent lower.
In headlines, News Corporation
(ASX:NWS) closed 7.9 per cent higher as the best-performing stock, following its full year results.
NSW recorded 291 new Covid-19 cases, the highest daily total since the pandemic began. Victoria recorded 6 new cases and Queensland recorded 10.
Local economic newsRBA has released the August's
Statement on Monetary Policy and trimmed its forecast for GDP growth this year to 4 per cent from 4.75 per cent.
Company news Please join us for Stocks of the Hour
here. Global digital property advertiser REA Group
(ASX:REA), reports a strong performance for the period ending 30 Jun 2021 (FY21).
Global medical equipment company ResMed
(ASX:RMD), records revenue of $876.1 million for its quarter ending 30 Jun 2021 (Q4, FY21).
Global media broadcaster News Corporation
(ASX:NWS), posts revenue of $9.36 billion for the period ending 30 Jun 2021 (FY21).
Mining giant BHP
(ASX:BHP) has approved US $544 million to execute the Shenzi North oil project in the US Gulf of Mexico.
FuturesThe Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 26 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 2 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 5 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 12 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector was Information Technology, up 2.1 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Materials, down 1.01 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was News Corporation
(ASX:NWS), closing 7.9 per cent higher at $35.20. It was followed by shares in Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
(ASX:URW) and Afterpay
(ASX:APT).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Perseus Mining
(ASX:PRU), closing 5.4 per cent lower at $1.57. It was followed by shares in Domain Holdings Australia
(ASX:DHG) and REA Group
(ASX:REA).
Asian marketsJapan's Nikkei has gained 0.3 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 0.02 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has lost 0.8 per cent.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1801.88 an ounce.
Iron ore is 6.6 per cent lower at US$171.55 a ton.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 0.4 per cent.
Light crude is trading $0.32 higher at US$69.41 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 73.90 US cents.
