Australian leading index falls again: ASX tracking 0.1% higher at noon

18Dec

Australian leading index falls again: ASX tracking 0.1% higher at noon

 

The Australian share market has been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride so far this morning. It is now tracking 0.1 per cent higher at noon. Shares in Oil Search (AX:OSH) have risen today after they reported they expect to start early engineering work in Alaska and a rise in resources. Shares in OZ Minerals (ASX:OZL) have dipped today after reporting Cassini Resources (ASX:CZI) acquired the exclusive rights to Traka Resources Ltd’s (ASX:TKL) West Musgrave tenement package. This will now become part of the West Musgrave Joint Venture Project with OZ Minerals (ASX:OZL). The best-performing sector is Energy, while the worst performing sector is Information Technology.

The S&P/ASX 200 index is 4 points up at 6,852. On the futures market the SPI is 2 points lower.

Local Economic news

The Westpac MI leading index six month annualised growth rate fell from negative 0.78 per cent in October to negative 0.81 per cent in November.

Broker moves

Credit Suisse has upgraded Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) to a Neutral from an Underperform, with a 12-month price target of $9.60 Current Price is $9.65. They believe the company has paid a fair price for 50 per cent of the Super Pit based on the current reserves and the assumption that the current constrained production and elevated costs will improve.
Shares in Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) added 1.7 per cent at $9.81.

Company news

Codan (ASX:CDA) have made a good start to the first four months of the year, with Metal Detection and Communications sales exceeding expectations. The Board now expects the underlying net profit after tax for the six months to 31 December 2019 to be in the order of $30 million. Codan is a manufacturer and supplier of communications, metal detection, and mining technology, headquartered in Adelaide. Shares in Codan (ASX:CDA) are 9.9 per cent higher at $7.47.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Energy, adding 0.8 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Infotech, shedding 0.4 per cent.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Avita Medical (ASX:AVH) rising 5.1 per cent to $0.62, followed by shares in Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CUV) and Corporate Travel Management (ASX:CTD).

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Oz Minerals (ASX:OZL), dropping 4 per cent to $11.08, followed by shares in Perenti Global (ASX:PRN) and Cimic Group (ASX:CIM).

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,476 an ounce.
Iron ore price is flat at US$94.07
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 0.6 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 68.52 US cents.
 
Copyright 2019 – Finance News Network


Source: Finance News Network

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