Job Ads rise by record 42%: Aus shares close 0.7% down

The Australian share market fell at the open before rising after midday but falling sharply again in the dying hours, closing 0.7 per cent down at the end of today’s trade.

Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) led the gains for the day up over 11 per cent, after the company announced an expanded access protocol has been initiated in the United States for compassionate use of its stem cell product candidate remestemcel-L in the treatment of COVID-19 infected children, and Adbri (ASX:ABC) led the losses for the day, down almost 7 per cent.

The S&P/ASX200 index

At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 43 points lower to finish at 6,015.

Futures market

Dow futures are suggesting a rise of 379 points.
S&P 500 futures are eyeing a gain of 39 points.
The Nasdaq futures are eyeing a lift of 136 points.
And the ASX200 futures are eyeing a 32 point fall tomorrow morning.

Local economic news

ANZ Job Ads rose by a record 42% m/m in June, topping the previous record monthly increase of 17.7% in February 2010 according to ANZ Senior Economist, Catherine Birch. Week-to-week movements were positive, showing consistent improvement throughout the month as COVID-19 restrictions continued to ease across most of Australia during June. SEEK noted that the strongest growth in SEEK job ads has been in the hospitality and tourism sector – a good sign for at least some of the 381,000 workers in accommodation and food services and arts and recreation who lost employment between February and May. Despite the rebound in June, ANZ Job Ads were still 41% lower than they were in February, before the pandemic began to impact the labour market.

Broker moves

Morgans has rated Lovisa Holdings (ASX:LOV) as an Add. the accessory brand's FY20 sales outcome was in-line with expectations, with sales in the second-half reducing by 37%, due to the impact of the pandemic. The broker expects sales recovery to be slow as Lovisa relies on consumer traffic with its products being events-driven. Over the long term, Morgans considers Lovisa’s business model to be best-in-class. The broker is confident about management’s ability to guide the company well and highlights the opportunity through continued store rollouts ahead. Shares in Lovisa Holdings (ASX:LOV) closed 18.6 per cent higher at $7.27.

Company news

Qantas (ASX:QAN) and Afterpay (ASX:APT) will launch an exclusive new partnership allowing Qantas Frequent Flyers to earn Qantas Points with the Buy Now Pay Later platform.

City Chic (ASX:CCX) has responded to media speculation confirming there has been no agreement reached on the terms of a possible acquisition in the US.

Mayne Pharma has entered into a long-term supply agreement with Novast Laboratories for 13 US generic oral contraceptive products.

Best and worst performers

The best performing sector, and the only sector in the green at the close of trade, was Information Technology, adding 0.2 per cent, while the worst performing sector was Health Care, shedding 1.8 per cent.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Mesoblast (ASX:MSB), rising 11.3 per cent to close at $3.75. Shares in Ooh!Media (ASX:OML) and Credit Corp Group (ASX:CCP) followed.

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Adbri (ASX:ABC), dropping 6.8 per cent to close at $2.19 cents. Shares in Bega Cheese (ASX:BGA) and TPG Telecom (ASX:TPG) followed.

Asian markets

All higher. Japan’s Nikkei has gained 1.8 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 3.1 per cent and the Shanghai Composite is 5.1 per cent up.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,774 an ounce.
Iron ore price added 1.2 per cent to US$100.65.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 1.5 per cent.
Light crude is US$0.05 down at US$40.71 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 69.72 US cents.

Source: Finance News Network