Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) to buy ME Bank for $1.3b: ASX closes 0.2% lower

It has been a rollercoaster day of trade for the Australian share market. At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 13 points lower, or 0.2 per cent lower to finish at 6,781.

Futures market

Dow futures are suggesting a fall of 48points.
S&P 500 futures are eyeing a dip of 11 points.
The Nasdaq futures are eyeing fall of 45 points.
And the ASX200 futures are eyeing a 17 point fall tomorrow morning

Company news

Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) said it will buy ME Bank for $1.325 billion. The acquisition to be fully funded through a $1.35 billion equity raising. Combined, the Group will have pro forma total assets over $88 billion, with total deposits of more than $56 billion. Chairman Patrick Allaway stated, “Today’s announcement is another major step in our strategy to be the leading customer-centric alternative to the big banks. Shares in Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) last traded at $8.41.

Costa Group Holdings (ASX:CGC) the grower, packer and marketer of fruit and vegetables today report a full year statutory net profit of $60.8 million, from a loss of $36.1 million a year ago – an increase of 108.4 per cent.

Waste collections group BINGO (ASX:BIN) reports that Covid-19 has less impact than originally anticipated with key markets and the company is on track to recover ahead of schedule.
The company’s statutory after-tax profit fell 58.5 per cent.

Syrah Resources (ASX:SYR) is to restart production at the Balama Graphite Operation in Mozambique.

Best and worst performers of the day

The best performing sector was Materials adding 2.6 per cent while the worst performing sector was Healthcare, shedding 2.2 per cent.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Costa Group Holdings (ASX:CGC), rising 12.97 per cent to close at $4.53. Shares in Webjet (ASX:WEB) and Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR) followed higher.

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Appen (ASX:APX),dropping 4.8 per cent to close at $20.57. Shares in Ansell (ASX:ANN) and ARB Corp (ASX:ARB followed.

Asian markets

Mixed:Japan’s Nikkei has added 0.7 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has added 0.1 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has lost 0.2per cent.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,787 an ounce.
Iron ore price fell 0.9 per cent to US$173.55.
Its futures are pointing to a rise of 2.4 per cent.
Light crude is US$0.68 up at US$56.09 barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 78.85 US cents.

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Source: Finance News Network