Following strong leads, the Australian share market opened marginally higher but backflipped and is down 0.4 per cent at noon.
The banks have weighed on the market today while the major miners have pushed higher.
Gains on Wall Street overnight came ahead of a monetary policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve while stimulus activity in China has also spurred some positive sentiment with the People’s bank of China expanding liquidity for the country’s major financial institutions.
The iron ore price has slipped again overnight after recovering some ground earlier in the week.
The Aussie dollar pushed back above $US0.90 after a further slide yesterday and is currently at$US0.9070
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 17 points down at 5,428. On the futures market the SPI is 17 points lower.
Economic news
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has reported International merchandise imports have dropped in August. Total imports were down 7 per cent, to $20.2 billion for the month.
Company news
Universal Biosensors, Inc.
(ASX:UBI) will delay the launch of its point-of-care testing system which it’s developing with Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics.
The medical diagnostics company says the delay is driven by additional work to improve the manufacturing reliability of a sub-component of the hand-held analyser. UBI and Siemens have applied the novel coagulation testing system to monitoring the blood thinning drug warfarin to help ensure a safe and effective dose. CEO Paul Wright says he is excited about the commercial potential for the system and looks forward to Siemens obtaining regulatory approval. Shares in UBI are trading down 11.11 per cent at $0.16
Copper miner Avanco Resources Limited
(ASX:AVB) has reported its maiden JORC copper ore reserves at the Antas deposit.
The miner says the results confirm a robust and high grade copper deposit suitable to open pit mining and with simple metallurgy. Avanco says they haven’t identified any technical or environmental impediments with Avanco situated in an established mining district and close to infrastructure. Shares in Avanco are trading up 4.55 per cent at $0.12
Best and worst performers The best performing sector is materials, gaining 0.5 per cent to 9,791. Shares in Orora Limited
(ASX:ORA) have risen 4.05 per cent and trading at $1.73. Shares in PanAust Limited
(ASX:PNA) and Evolution Mining
(ASX:EVN) are also stronger.
The worst performing sector is financial excluding real estate investment trusts, falling 1 per cent to 7,065. Shares in Challenger Limited
(ASX:CGF) have fallen 3.33 per cent, trading at $7.12. Shares in Steadfast Group Limited
(ASX:SDF) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group
(ASX:ANZ) are also lower.
Gold and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,238 an ounce.
The Australian dollar is buying $US0.9070
