CYBG shares plummet on PPI fiasco: ASX tracking 1.01% higher at noon

The Australian share market opened higher following positive leads from Wall Street and is now tracking 1.01 per cent higher at noon. Shares in CYBG (ASX:CYB) took a huge hit today after they announced they will increase provision for PPI costs by between £300 million and £450 million. The Energy sector is leading the way and the Real Estate Investment Trust sector trailing behind. The China Commerce Ministry that the US and China will have trade consultations in mid Sept.

The S&P/ASX 200 index is 66 points up at 6,619. On the futures market the SPI is 1.2 per cent higher.

Local economic news

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released the international trade in Goods and Services. In seasonally adjusted terms, the balance was a surplus of $7.27 billion in July 2019, a decrease of $709 million on the surplus in June 2019. This beat market expectations of $7 billion.

Company news

Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price has returned from its trading halt after closing the institutional component of its $91.5 million equity raising having successfully raised a total of $36.5 million from institutional and sophisticated investors. The Institutional Placement will be followed by a strategic placement of $55.0 million to the leading Chinese battery manufacturer for electric vehicles, Contemporary Amperex Technology. The Institutional Placement was heavily oversubscribed. Approximately 121.7 million new Pilbara Minerals ordinary shares are to be issued under the Institutional Placement at a price of $0.30 per share. Shares in Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) are 2.1 per cent lower at $0.34.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Energy, adding 2 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Real Estate Investment Trust, shedding 0.2 per cent.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Nanosonics (ASX:NAN), rising 6.4 per cent to $6.99, followed by shares in Pinnacle Investment Management Group (ASX:PNI) and CSR (ASX:CSR).

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is CYBG (ASX:CYB), dropping 19.1 per cent to $2.02, followed by shares in Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) and Sigma Healthcare (ASX:SIG).

Asian markets

Japan’s Nikkei has added 2 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 0.1 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has added 0.9 per cent.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,544 an ounce.
Iron ore price rose 2.4 per cent to US$91.32
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 2.4 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 68.22 US cents.

Source: Finance News Network