The Australian share market opened higher and maintained its foothold in positive territory. At noon, the ASX is 0.5 per cent or 4.1 points higher at 7542.5. The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 6 points.
Financials are up 1.4 per cent with Real Estate among the gainers. On the other hand, Materials are down 1.3 per cent.
Major banks are pushing forward. Westpac
(ASX:WBC) is trading 1.6 per cent higher following news it will sell its Australian life insurance to TAL for $900 million. Commonwealth
(ASX:CBA) is up 1.3 per cent, ANZ
(ASX:ANZ) is up 1.5 per cent and NAB (ASX) is up 1.4 per cent.
Mining giant BHP
(ASX:BHP) is down 0.7 per cent, Rio Tinto
(ASX:RIO) is down 1.5 per cent and Fortescue Metals
(ASX:FMG) is down 2 per cent.
In headlines, full years results were released across the sectors. Insurance company Suncorp
(ASX:SUN) is trading 7.8 per cent higher as the best-performing stock, following a 42.1 per cent increase in cash earnings. On this note, several insurance companies are pushing forward, including Insurance Australia Group
(ASX:IAG), up 4.4 per cent.
Real Estate Investment Trust Charter Hall
(ASX:CLW) is up 0.5 per cent, following its FY21 results. Road and toll operator Transurban Group
(ASX:TCL) is down 1.2 per cent, following a decline in traffic and cash.
NSW recorded 283 new Covid-19 cases, Victoria recorded 11 new cases and Queensland recorded 4 new cases.
Company news Aurizon
(ASX:AZJ) reports earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $1,482 million for the period ending 30 Jun 2021 (FY21), 1 per cent higher than the prior year.
Insurance company Suncorp
(ASX:SUN) reports a strong year with cash earnings of $1,064 million for the period ending 30 Jun 2021 (FY21), up 42.1 per cent from the prior year.
Global road and toll operator, Transurban Group
(ASX:TCL) reports a decline across several areas for the period ending 30 Jun 2021 (FY21), amid global disruptions.
Real Estate Investment Trust, Charter Hall Long WALE
(ASX:CLW), announces its full year results for the period ending 30 Jun 2021 (FY21).
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector is Financials, up 1.4 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Materials, down 1.3 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Suncorp Group
(ASX:SUN), trading 7.8 per cent higher at $12.78. It is followed by shares in Insurance Australia Group
(ASX:IAG) and QBE Insurance Group
(ASX:QBE).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is News Corporation
(ASX:NWS), trading 8.1 per cent lower at $32.36. It is followed by shares in Gold Road Resources
(ASX:GOR) and Perseus Mining
(ASX:PRU).
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1736.38 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.6 per cent higher at US$172.51 a ton.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 4.6 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 73.51 US cents.
