Following a quiet day on US markets, the ASX has traded in the red this morning. The local market ha been anticipating the release of ABS labour figures, with the bureau reporting a jump in the unemployment rate to 6.4 per cent.
Meanwhile Tabcorp today reported a boost in its net profit, while Flexigroup saw its profit slip in the 2014 financial year.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 13 points down at 5,499. On the futures market the SPI is 17 points lower.
Economic news
The Australian Bureau of Statistics today reported that employment decreased to 11.5 million jobs in July, pushing the unemployment rate up to 6.4 per cent. The figure came in above analysts expectations with most forecasts suggesting the figure would stay steady.
Company news
Telstra Corporation Limited
(ASX:TLS) is set to utilise data services at the ASX Australian Liquidity Centre.
The telco says the point of presence at the purpose built financial markets data centre will address demand for enhanced market data and low latency solutions. The ALC data centre is operated by the Australian Stock Exchange and is home to over 100 financial markets operators. Shares in Telstra are trading down 0.09 per cent at $5.42
Digital CC Limited
(ASX:DCC) will increase its Bitcoin mining capacity by 90 per cent with a US$1.3 million investment.
The investment company (trading as (digitalBTC) says new equipment from the BitFury Group will be hosted in Iceland for lower cooling and energy costs. The company says it has managed to repay its initial capital costs of US$4 million in its first 4 months of operation. Shares in digital CC are trading up 1.54 per cent at $0.33
Best and worst performers The best performing sector is utilities, gaining 0.3 per cent to 5,918. Shares in Envestra Limited
(ASX:ENV) have risen 3.13 per cent and trading at $1.32. Shares in APA Group
(ASX:APA) and DUET Group
(ASX:DUE) are also stronger.
The worst performing sector is financials excluding real estate investment trusts, falling 0.6 per cent to 7,185. Shares in Perpetual Limited
(ASX:PPT) have fallen 1.66 per cent, trading at $46.19. Shares in Macquarie Group Limited
(ASX:MQG) and QBE Insurance Group Limited
(ASX:QBE) are also lower.
Gold and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,307 an ounce.
The Australian dollar is buying $US0.9302
