People employed in tourism fell by 6.6%: ASX tracking 0.6% lower at noon

The Australian share market dropped at the open and is now tracking 0.6 per lower at noon. Shares in Perpetual did well today. Shares in Appen (ASX:APX) fell after the company slashed their full year earnings guidance. The only sector in the black today is consumer staples.

The S&P/ASX 200 index

The S&P/ASX 200 index is 38 points lower at 6690. On the futures market the SPI is pointing to a fall of 32 points.

Local Economic news

Tourism's contribution to economy gross domestic product fell from 3.1 per cent to 2.5 per cent during financial year 2019-2020 according the Australian Bureau of Statistics. People employed in tourism fell by 6.6 per cent due to bushfires and Covid-19.

Broker moves

Macquarie rates Incitec Pivot (ASX:IPL) as upgrade to outperform from neutral. Strong US demand and higher fertiliser prices over the last month have underpinned Incitec Pivot (ASX:IPL) which has also been able to capture some of the premium in US diammonium phosphate prices via US exports.
Macquarie expects this will continue over the short term before supply moves to the key Australian season. The share price is still at a discount to traditional fertiliser price correlation and book value. Target is raised to $2.67. Shares in Incitec Pivot (ASX:IPL) is trading 0.2 per cent higher at $2.41.

Company news

360 Capital Group (ASX:TGP) has purchased a 70 per cent interest in Hotel Capital Partners. Stephen Burt who established the company in 2000 has joined 360 Capital as a joint venture partner and Managing Director of HCP. The Group is starting to see significant opportunities in the hotel sector and by partnering with Stephen, they believe HCP has the opportunity to build a significant hotel investment and operational platform. Shares in 360 Capital Group (ASX:TGP) is trading 2.1 per cent higher at $0.97.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is consumer staples rising 0.1 per cent, while the worst performing sector is information technology shedding 1.8 per cent.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Perpetual (ASX:PPT) rising 6.9 per cent to $36.39 followed by shares in Credit Corp (ASX:CCP) and Fortescue Metals Management (ASX:FMG).

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Appen (ASX:AOX) dropping 11.8 per cent to $26.39 followed by shares Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) and Saracen Minerals (ASX:SAR).

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,838 an ounce.
Iron ore price is 1.2 higher at US$150.16
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 4.7 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 74.52 US cents.

Source: Finance News Network