House prices fall in June quarter: ASX is 0.2% lower at noon
The Australian share market fell at the open following soft leads from Wall Street and is now tracking 0.2 per cent lower at noon. Eclipx Group (ASX:ECX) and shares in the Vocus Group (ASX:VOC) both rose today. Ramsay Healthcare (ASX:RHC) and Corporate Travel Management (ASX:CTD) saw declines. The S&P/ASX 200 index is 15 points down at 6,658. On the futures market the SPI is 0.3 per cent lower or 22 points down.
Local economic news
Residential property prices fell 0.7 per cent in the June quarter 2019, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The falls were led by the Melbourne (-0.8 per cent) and Sydney (-0.5 per cent) property markets. All capital cities apart from Hobart (+0.5 per cent) and Canberra (+0.2 per cent) recorded falls in property prices in the June quarter 2019. Through the year, residential property prices fell 7.4 per cent in the June quarter 2019.
Company news
Aurizon (ASX:AZJ) has started proceedings regarding the sale of the Australian assets of Genesee & Wyoming. They today applied to the Supreme Court of New South Wales seeking damages and declarations that Genesee & Wyoming, breached long-standing contractual rights held by Aurizon concerning G&W’s Australian assets. Shares in Aurizon (ASX:AZJ) are trading 0.3 per cent higher at $5.83.
Oceania Healthcare (ASX:OCA) has appointed Dr Frances Hughes as General Manager Nursing & Clinical Strategy. She has over 30 years’ nursing experience and has held senior management and nursing positions on a global level, most notably as the Chief Executive of the International Council of Nurses, based in Geneva. She was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to mental health in 2005. Shares in Oceania Healthcare (ASX:OCA) last traded at $0.92.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Energy, adding 0.7 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Materials, shedding 1.4 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Eclipx Group (ASX:ECX), rising 4.4 per cent to $1.80, followed by shares in Vocus Group (ASX:VOC) and Chorus (ASX:CNU).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Ramsay Healthcare (ASX:RHC), dropping 5.4 per cent to $61.69, followed by shares in Corporate Travel Management (ASX:CTD) and Blackmores (ASX:BKL).
Asian markets
Japan’s Nikkei has added 0.2 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has shed 1 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has lost 0.7 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1,500 an ounce.
Iron ore price fell 0.9 per cent to US$98.45
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 1.8 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 68.46 US cents.
Copyright 2019 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
