Consumer sentiment falls in September: ASX tracking 0.2% higher at noon

The Australian share market rose at the open and after an earlier push is now tracking 0.2 per cent higher at noo. Unibail Rodamco Westfield (ASX:URW) is the index's best performer so far, up over 6 per cent. Tabcorp (ASX:TAH) shares saw some movement today after being told today that the Australian Federal Police has closed its investigation into the Cambodian matter. The investigation was from 2009 when Elmer Funke Kupper was chief executive. Tech stocks are not faring so well with Appen (ASX:APX) down. The Materials sector is leading the way and the Infotech sector trailing behind in the first two hours of trade.

The S&P/ASX 200 index is 11 points up at 6,625. On the futures market the SPI is 0.2 points higher.

Local economic news

The Westpac–Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index fell 1.7 per cent in September after climbing 3.6 per cent the previous month.

Company news

Australian Oil and Gas explorer and developer, Red Sky Energy (ASX:ROG) has executed a Farm Out Agreement and will enter into a Joint Operating Agreement with Santos (ASX:STO), in respect to some Cooper Basin licences. The agreement is to inject $9 million in capital into Red Sky’s Innamincka Dome projects. Shares in Santos (ASX:STO) are 2.2 per cent lower at $7.51.

NEXTDC (ASX:NXT) has appointed Jennifer Lambert to the NEXTDC board as non-executive director, effective 1 October 2019. She currently serves as a non-executive director at BlueScope Steel (ASX:BSL). She has more than 25 years’ experience in property funds management, operational and strategic finance, tax, treasury, legal and compliance. Shares in NEXTDC (ASX:NXT) are 0.2 per cent lower at $6.21.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Materials adding 1.4 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Infotech shedding 1.5 per cent.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Unibail Rodamco Westfield (ASX:URW), rising 6.6 per cent to $10.25, followed by shares in Ardent Leisure Group (ASX:ALG) and NewHope Corp (ASX:NHC)

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Appen (ASX:APX), dropping 5.5 per cent to $23.00, followed by shares in Charter Hall Group (ASX:CHC) and Pro Medicus (ASX:PME).

Asian markets

Japan’s Nikkei has added 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 0.2 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has lost 0.3 per cent.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,491 an ounce.
Iron ore price rose 0.3 per cent to US$93.22
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 1.2 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 68.56 US cents.

Source: Finance News Network