Following a mix of leads, the Australian share market managed to open higher but steep volatility saw a brief dip into the red before trading flat at midday.
The major banks have seen some marginal gains this morning while the materials sector pushed higher despite losses by a number of iron ore miners.
The S&P/ASX 200 indexis 1 point down at 5,411. On the futures market the SPI is 7 points lower.
Company news
1-Page Limited
(ASX:1PG) is set to purchase the professional networking service BranchOut for $US2 million in cash and 7.5 million 1 Page shares.
The cloud based HR company says BranchOut’s service is built on the Facebook platform and the acquisition will offer the company a much larger footprint into a global recruiting market. Shares in 1-Page last traded at $0.42.
Ellex Medical Lasers Limited
(ASX:ELX) has had positive scientific and clinical research on it Retinal Rejuvenation technology published in a US journal.
The laser technology company says the research incorporates both 24 month clinical data and scientific work on the impact of 2RT in two surgically removed human eyes as well as animal eye models. Associate Professor Erica Fletcher says this is the first time they have been able to demonstrate the mechanism of action of 2RT in human retina explants. Shares in Ellex are trading up10.53 per cent at $0.32.
Best and worst performers The best performing sector is energy, gaining 0.3 per cent to 12,950. Shares in Liquefied Natural Gas Limited
(ASX:LNG) have risen 4.94 per cent and trading at $3.61. Shares in Karoon Gas Australia Limited
(ASX:KAR) and Senex Energy Limited
(ASX:SXY) are also stronger.
The worst performing sector is real estate investment trusts, falling 0.1 per cent to 1,146. Shares in Federation Centres Limited
(ASX:FDC)have fallen 0.73 per cent, trading at $2.72. Shares in Novion Property Group
(ASX:NVN) and Charter Hall Retail REIT
(ASX:CQR) are also lower.
Gold and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,186 an ounce.
The Australian dollar is buying $US0.8722.
