Following weak leads from Wall Street, the Australian share market opened flat this morning.
The market has been weighed by a dip in the BHP Billiton share price as the market reacts negatively to the miner’s demerger plans despite reporting healthy profit gains.
We also saw Coca Cola Amatil report a first half loss and warn on a full year dip in profit; while AGL Energy posted a rise in statutory profit in the full year as well as announcing a capital raising of over $1 billion to fund the purchase of Macquarie Generation assets.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 7 points down at 5,617. On the futures market the SPI is 3 points lower.
Company news
Fortescue Metals Group Limited
(ASX:FMG) has lifted its full year profit by 56 per cent in the 2014 financial year.
The iron ore producer says total iron ore shipments were up 54 per cent to 124.2 million tonnes. The company says paying down debt will be a priority with lower costs flagged to come online in the year ahead. A final dividend of $0.10 fully franked will be paid on October 3. Shares in Fortescue are trading down 0.11 per cent at $4.62.
SEEK Limited
(ASX:SEK) has reported a 35 per cent drop in net profit in the 2014 financial year.
The online jobs advertiser has given an upbeat appraisal of the full year result with earnings growing 29 per cent. The company hopes to complete the purchase of JobStreet by the end of September which has been flagged as a key driver of revenue growth. A final dividend of $0.16, fully franked, has been declared. Shares in Seek are trading down 3.06 per cent at $16.48.
Best and worst performers The best performing sector is consumer staples, gaining 0.8 per cent to 10,325. Shares in Bega Cheese Limited
(ASX:BGA) have risen 2.12 per cent and trading at $5.31. Shares in Wesfarmers Limited
(ASX:WES) and Tassal Group Limited
(ASX:TGR) are also stronger.
The worst performing sector is materials, falling 2 per cent to 10,329. Shares in BHP Billiton Limited
(ASX:BHP) have fallen 3.96 per cent, trading at $38.11. Shares in Medusa Mining Limited
(ASX:MML) and Alumina Limited
(ASX:AWC) are also lower.
Gold and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,296 an ounce.
The Australian dollar is buying $US0.9308.
