Nine Entertainment Co (ASX:NEC) down 5.2 per cent: ASX down 0.5 per cent at noon

The Australian sharemarket edged lower at open with Nine Entertainment Co. (ASX:NEC) down 5.2 per cent following its reported drop in results from todays AGM. Whitehaven Coal was also down 4.2 per cent. Jumbo Interactive (ASX:JIN) was the best performer at noon up 9.6 per cent with the announcement the online lottery company entered into an agreement to acquire UK lottery company Gatherwell.

The S&P/ASX 200 index is 0.5 per cent lower at 6740. On the futures market the SPI is indicating a fall of 23 points.

Broker moves

Credit Suisse has rated Domain Holdings Australia (ASX:DHG) as an Underperform. The AGM update flagged weakness in residential listing volumes with underlying revenue down and digital revenue down in the first four months of FY20. Some offset has been provided by an increased focus on cost reductions. A new pricing structure was also confirmed, expected to drive a weighted average price increase of 5-7% into 2020.

Company news

ERM Power Limited (ASX:EPW) has reported that the Supreme Court of New South Wales has today made orders approving the proposed scheme of arrangement under which ERM Power will be acquired by Shell Energy Australia Pty Ltd. ERM Power expects to lodge the Court orders with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission today, at which time the Scheme will become legally effective. Today the Company is the second largest electricity provider to commercial businesses and industrials in Australia by load. Shares in ERM Power are trading 0.2 per cent higher at $2.42.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Info Tech adding 1 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Financials, shedding 0.9 per cent.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Jumbo Interactive (ASX:JIN) rising 7.2 per cent to $21.78, followed by shares in Domain Holdings Australia (ASX:DHG) and Afterpay Touch Group (ASX:APT).

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Nine Entertainment Co. (ASX:NEC), dropping 5.2 per cent to $1.75, followed by shares in Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) and Westpac (ASX:WBC).

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,456 an ounce.
Iron ore price shed 1.4 per cent to US$78.98
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 0.1 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 68.53 US cents.

Source: Finance News Network