James Hardie (ASX:JHX) shares are up after reporting better-than-expected profit: ASX tracking 2.03% higher at noon
The Australian share market shot up at the open after a boost from promising news regarding a vaccine for Covid-19. It is now tracking almost 2.03 per cent higher at noon. Building products manufacturer James Hardie (ASX:JHX) shares have seen a leap today after reporting a 6 per cent increase in full-year profit today. Shares in Oil Search (ASX:OSH) are also up. Meanwhile, shares in Jumbo Interactive (ASX:JIN) are down.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 111 points up at 5,571. On the futures market the SPI is 90points higher.
Local economic news
Minutes from the Reserve Bank's May meeting on policy show it expects inflation to remain below the bottom of its 2 per cent range for "the next few years".
Broker moves
Credit Suisse rates Boral (ASX:BLD) as Downgrade to Neutral from Outperform. Credit Suisse describes the drop in profitability in the latest update as "stunning", with margins down -7-10 per cent, and despite little apparent impact from the pandemic on revenue. The broker assesses, in Australia, the margin decline was driven by operating leverage, disruptions to plants, pricing and mix. North America was affected by the working down of inventory and disruptions as well. Target price is $2.65. Shares in Boral (ASX:BLD) are currently tracking 5.1 per cent higher at $2.58.
Company news
Byron Energy (ASX:BYE) has completed a $16 million capital raising and is seeking an additional share purchase plan to raise $4 million from retail investors. The total capital raised could rise to as high as $25.4 million given $5.4 million in loans from Crimson Midstream. The funds will be used to fund the final development phase of its SM58 project in the Gulf of Mexico. where they hope to commence production in September 2020. Shares in Byron Energy (ASX:BYE) are trading 3.2 per cent higher at $0.16.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Energy gaining 5 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Healthcare losing at 0.5 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is James Hardie Industry (ASX:JHX) rising 10.4 per cent to $23.65, followed by shares in Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX:URW) and Worley (ASX:WOR).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Regis Resources (ASX:RRL) dropping 5.3 per cent to $5.15, followed by shares in Silver Lake Resources (ASX:SLR) and Jumbo Interactive (ASX:JIN).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1,740 an ounce.
Iron ore price is 3.4 per cent higher at US$96.84
Iron ore futures are suggesting a rise of 1.6 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.26US cents.
Copyright 2020 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
