The Australian sharemarket is trading 0.1 per cent higher after swimming in the red for most of the morning. Energy and materials stocks bounced back after a sharp loss on Monday. At noon, the ASX/200 is 0.1 per cent or 4 points higher at 7252.2. The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 7 points.
Across the sectors 5 out of 11 were in the black. Energy added the most points up 1.7 per cent while utilities are performing the worst, down 1.3 per cent. Materials added 1.3 per cent, consumer discretionary, health care and industrials also added to the gains while financials are dragging.
Heavyweight miners are higher despite iron ore futures pointing to a fall of 6.9 per cent. BHP
(ASX:BHP) is up 1.9 per cent while paying a final dividend to its shareholders today. Rio Tinto
(ASX:RIO) is up 2 per cent and and Fortescue Metals
(ASX:FMG) is up 2.6 per cent. The best-performing stock is Champion Iron
(ASX:CIA) up 4.9 per cent.
Oil stocks Santos
(ASX:STO) and Oil Search
(ASX:OSH) are trading 0.4 and 0.5 per cent higher while Woodside Petroleum
(ASX:WPL) is up 2.6 per cent. Major banks are in the red with NAB
(ASX:NAB) trading the worst, down 1 per cent.
In headlines, APA Group
(ASX:APA) is trading 3.9 per cent lower as the worst performing stock, following a take-over bid to AusNet, after they opened their books to Brookfield yesterday. Bank of Queensland
(ASX:BOQ) is trading 1.2 per cent lower following a shake up in its executive team.
Local economic news ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence was virtually unchanged at 103.3, up 0.2 points in mid-September. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews outlined the State’s re-opening plan on Sunday afternoon but the full impact on confidence won’t be felt until next weekend. Consumer Confidence remains well below the 2021 weekly average of 108.6 but is now 9.8 points higher than the same week a year ago, September 19/20, 2020 (93.5).
Consumer Confidence this week was down slightly in both NSW and Victoria, although still in positive territory in both states. Consumer Confidence increased in both Queensland and South Australia and was virtually unchanged, and higher than anywhere else, in Western Australia at well over 110.
Driving this week’s increase was improving confidence about the year ahead with more people expecting to be better off financially this time next year and positive views about the Australian economy’s performance over the next year and next five years improving on a week ago.
Today the RBA meeting minutes was released
here.
Company news Energy infrastructure business APA
(ASX:APA) have launched a non-binding offer to AusNet a day after they opened their books to Brookfield who proposed a $9.6 billion take-over bid.
Bank of Queensland
(ASX:BOQ) welcomes David Watts as chief risk officer from IAG and promoted Chris Screen as group executive for business banking.
Best and worst performers The best-performing sector is Energy, up 1.7 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Utilities, down 1.3 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Champion Iron
(ASX:CIA), trading 4.9 per cent higher at $4.70. It is followed by shares in Regis Resources
(ASX:RRL) and Whitehaven Coal
(ASX:WHC).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is APA Group
(ASX:APA), trading 3.9 per cent lower at $8.53. It is followed by shares in Nickel Mines
(ASX:NIC) and Janus Henderson Group
(ASX:JHG).
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1765.90 an ounce.
Iron ore is 8.8 per cent lower at US$92.98 a ton.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 6.9 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 72.70 US cents.