Coca-Cola Amatil (ASX:CCL) appoints CFO: Aus shares 0.7% higher at noon

The Australian share market opened higher this morning and is now trading 0.7 per cent higher at noon. GrainCorp (ASX:GNC), is leading the top 200 gains at midday, up over 6 per cent, with United Malt Group (ASX:UMG) coming in last following the completion of their $140m institutional placement.

The S&P/ASX 200 index is 38 points up at 5,367. On the futures market the SPI is 56 points up. 

Broker moves 

UBS has rated Xero (ASX:XRO) as a Sell. The broker says Xero reported a maiden profit for FY20, although this was less than UBS expected. Revenue grew by 30% with growth in international business outstripping Australasia. While UBS remains supportive of the company's strategy and acknowledges strong execution, they believe there is uncertainty around operating trends over the short term and an unfavourable risk/reward on a longer term basis. The broker retains a Sell rating and $58.50 target. Shares in Xero (ASX:XRO) are trading 4.6 per cent lower at $76.14 at noon. 

Company news 

Coca-Cola Amatil (ASX:CCL) has appointed Greg Barnes as their Chief Financial Officer from 1 June. Mr Barnes has over 9 years’ experience as Chief Financial Officer in an ASX-listed environment, having held positions most recently at Nine Entertainment, where he was part of the executive team that led Nine’s acquisition of Fairfax creating a $3 billion combined entity, and CSR. Amatil’s Managing Director Alison Watkins said “Greg joins Amatil at a time when we are drawing on our strong financial foundations and our resilience through the COVID-19 pandemic period with a view to emerging even stronger and better than before”. Shares in Coca-Cola Amatil (ASX:CCL) are trading 0.4 per cent lower at $8.58.

Best and worst performers 

The best-performing sector is Materials, adding 2.6 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Information Technology shedding 1.4 per cent. 
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is GrainCorp (ASX:GNC), rising 6.1 per cent to $3.90, followed by shares in Silver Lake Resources (ASX:SLR) and Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR). 

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is United Malt Group (ASX:UMG) dropping 7 per cent to $3.99, followed by shares in Xero (ASX:XRO) and Boral (ASX:BLD). 

Commodities and the dollar 

Gold is trading at US$1,733 an ounce. 
Iron ore price is up 0.6 per cent to US$92.17.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 1.7 per cent. 
One Australian dollar is buying 64.59 US cents. 
 
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Source: Finance News Network