Afterpay rebounds, Rio drops on lithium buy: ASX down 0.3% at noon

Market Reports

by Lauren Evans

The Australian sharemarket is trading in negative territory this morning after falling at Wednesday's open. Across the sectors, seven out of eleven are in the red. Real estate is weighing the most, followed by industrials and consumer staples. Meanwhile, technology is the best performer, followed by energy. At noon, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.3 per cent or 19 points lower at 7336. The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 16 points.

In company news, real estate investment trust Charter Hall (ASX:CHC) has declined 5.5 per cent after purchasing a 50 per cent interest in Paradice Investment Management for $207 million.

Major banks are lower, with Commonwealth (ASX:CBA) down 0.2 per cent, Westpac (ASX:WBC) edging 0.1 per cent lower, and NAB (ASX:NAB) and ANZ (ASX:ANZ) both trading 0.8 per cent lower. Magellan Financial (ASX:MFG) has also fallen 3.9 per cent. 

Heavyweight miners fell, as Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) drops 1.7 per cent following the acquisition of Rincon lithium project for $825m. BHP (ASX:BHP) is also down 1.6 per cent, after ruling out a higher bid for Noront Resources. Meanwhile, Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG) is edging 0.1 per cent higher. 

Amongst the fall, protective equipment brand Ansell (ASX:ANN) is down 5.4 per cent with no company news released to the market. 

On a positive note, Afterpay (ASX:APT) has jumped 5.5 per cent and Pilbara Minerals also bounced back from heavy losses yesterday, adding 7.8 per cent. 

Local economic news

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released the weekly payroll jobs and wages. Payroll jobs were up 0.3 per cent in the fortnight up to 27 November 2021, and up 0.5 per cent in the previous fortnight (to 13 November 2021). 

Company news

Join us for Stocks of the Hour here covering headlines from Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), Flight Centre (ASX:FLT), and Praemium (ASX:PPS).

Real estate investment trust Charter Hall (ASX:CHC) has purchased a 50 per cent interest in Paradice Investment Management (PIM) for $207 million.

Mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the Rincon lithium project from Rincon Mining for $825 million.

Casino operator Crown Resorts (ASX:CWN) has appointed Bronwyn Weir as group company secretary following the resignation of Craig Durham.

Mining giant BHP (ASX:BHP) says it will not increase or extend its offer to acquire Noront Resources, and will therefore not match the bid by Wyloo Metals.

IPOs

Atturra (ASX:ATA) has listed on the ASX today. Their shares issued at $0.50, started trading at $0.49 and are currently at $0.565.

DMC Mining (ASX:DMM) has listed on the ASX today. Their shares issued at $0.20, started trading at $0.17 and are currently at $0.155.

Best and worst performers 

The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS), trading 6.4 per cent higher at $2.67. It is followed by shares in Afterpay Limited (ASX:APT) and Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR).

The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Charter Hall Group (ASX:CHC), trading 5.2 per cent lower at $20.49. It is followed by shares in Ansell Limited (ASX:ANN) and Magellan Financial Group  (ASX:MFG).

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1789.51 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.5 per cent higher at US$123.80 a ton.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 1.36 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 71.46 US cents.

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