It has been a negative day of trade for the Australian share market. After opening in the black the local bourse quickly dived into the red. It then remained below the line throughout the trading session, before closing 0.86 per cent lower.
All the sectors back pedaled today with utilities taking the biggest hit, followed by REITS and Energy. The likes of AGL
(ASX:AGL) loosing 2.3 per cent and Investor Office Fund
(ASX:IOF) dropping about 2.8 per cent.
However, gains were seen with the likes of Adairs
(ASX:ADH) adding almost 5 per cent and Jumbo Interactive
(ASX:JIN) rising about 1.5 per cent.
At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 49 points down, or 0.86 per cent lower to finish at 5,652.
The value of trades was $5.3 billion on volume of 772 million shares at the close of trade. The top three stocks by value were Commonwealth Bank
(ASX:CBA), ANZ
(ASX:ANZ) and Westpac
(ASX:WBC).
On the futures market the SPI is 48 points down.
Asian marketsJapan’s Nikkei has added 0.18 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has added 0.76 per cent and the Shanghai Composite is not trading due to public holiday.
Local economic newsThe services sector grew less than expected in the month of September, according to the Australian Industry Group. The AIG Services sector index was predicted to rise to a reading of 53.2, but slipped to 52.1.
Company newsPropertyLink
(ASX:PLG) shares have jumped to an all-time high after ESR Pte bought a stake of over 18 per cent in the company. The Australian real estate investment trust opened its books to the Asian logistic firm, which bought 60.2 million in shares through off-market purchases on 3rd October. ESR Pte will consider future strategic initiatives as part of its investment. Shares in PropertyLink
(ASX:PLG) closed 6.91 per cent higher at $1.01.
Cromwell Property Group
(ASX:CMW), agreed to sell its entire stake in Investa Office Fund
(ASX:IOF) for $276 million.
Xero
(ASX:XRO) the cloud accounting software company, has surpassed a quarter of a million subscribers in the UK.
Heron Resources
(ASX:HRR), ramped up its zinc-copper project in South West NSW with a $25m equipment order.
Best and worst performers Sector with the least losses was Healthcare loosing 0.68 per cent to close at 22,680 points. The worst performing sector was Utilities, shedding 2.45per cent to close at 7,850 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Western Areas
(ASX:WSA), rising 5.8 per cent to close at $2.92. Shares in A2 Milk
(ASX:A2M) and Independence Group
(ASX:IGO) also closed higher. The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Southern Cross Media Group
(ASX:SXL), dropping 4.37 per cent to close at $1.09. Shares in oOh! Media
(ASX:OML) and Aconex
(ASX:ACX) also closed lower.
CommoditiesGold is trading at $US1,277 an ounce.
Light crude is $0.40 lower at $US50.18 barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 78.62 US cents.
