The Australian share market opened jumped 0.6 per cent at the open but has been easing off, with financials trading lower again after the likes of Westpac
(ASX:WBC) losing over 1 per cent today, following on from its 3.6 per cent loss yesterday after a broker, UBS, downgraded the bank to a sell.
Despite that, all the other sectors are trading higher with health stocks again continuing to shine for the second day in a row. Nanosonics
(ASX:NAN) shares are soaring over 10 per cent higher after it received US FDA clearance for its newest infection prevention device. CSL
(ASX:CSL) and Cochlear
(ASX:COH) are also making gains of over 3 per cent.
Iron ore futures are pointing to gain of 0.3 per cent with the likes of Fortescue Metals
(ASX:FMG) Rio Tinto
(ASX:RIO) trading higher.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 0.3 per cent or 20 points up at 5,930. On the futures market the SPI is 15 points higher.
Economic newsProducer Prices rose 0.5 per cent in the March quarter, beating expectations of a 0.4 per cent rise.
Year-on-year prices lifted 1.7 per cent, unchanged from the prior quarter. It also beating expectations of a 1.2 per cent rise.
Company news Logistics company, GetSwift
(ASX:GSW) advised its deliveries rose 140 per cent in the March quarter, marking a massive recovery from the prior quarter's 2 per cent fall. Meantime, revenue rose 211 per cent compared to the same time last year. The firm also notched $97.7 million in cash and equivalents for the 31 March 2018 quarter. The board also announced a renewed focus on operations and growth. Its shares are trading 1.2 per cent lower at $0.41.
QBE
(ASX:QBE) granted conditional rights to its group CEO, Patrick Regan, under its incentive plan, with an initial value of $1.68 million. QBE shares are trading 0.2 per cent lower at $9.98
IPOsSimiles Inclusive
(ASX:SIL) started trading today. The national dental network floated with an issue price of $1.00, opened at $1.15 and its trading at $1.09.
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector is healthcare adding 2.9 per cent to 28,073 points while the worst performing sector is financials, shedding 0.8 per cent to 6,670 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Nanosonics
(ASX:NAN), rising 10.6 per cent to $2.50, followed by shares in Domino's Pizza Enterprises
(ASX:DMP) and TPG Telecom
(ASX:TPM).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia
(ASX:GMA), dropping 1.9 per cent to $2.31, followed by shares in Speedcast International
(ASX:SDA) and Westpac Banking Corporation
(ASX:WBC).
Asian markets Japan’s Nikkei has added 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has added 0.2 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has lost 0.6 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at $US1,317 an ounce.
One Australian dollar is buying 75.45 US cents.
CryptocurrenciesBitcoin trades at US$9,259 Ethereum US$661 and EOS is at US$15.00
