Qantas (ASX:QAN) teams up with Afterpay (ASX:APT): Aus shares flat at noon

The Australian share market opened lower this morning and is flat at noon. Anthony Pratt backed Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) is leading the top 200 gains at midday, up nearly 9 per cent, with Adbri (ASX:ABC) coming in last. The S&P/ASX 200 index is flat at 6,058. On the futures market the SPI is pointing to a 7 point fall.

Broker moves

Ord Minnett has rated Aurelia Metals (ASX:AMI) as Accumulate. The company finished FY20 with a strong operational and cash flow performance, although the broker warns the higher metal output may not be sustainable as headgrade remains volatile due to the nature of the orebodies. Ord Minnett has factored preliminary June quarter results and has raised FY20 earnings by 35% to $47m while FY21 earnings are down 29% to $65m. Shares in Aurelia Metals (ASX:AMI) are trading 8.2 per cent higher at $0.59.

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. Launching later this week, the airline’s Frequent Flyers can earn up to 5,000 Qantas Points when they link their membership number to their Afterpay account. Qantas Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth said earning points with Afterpay would be a huge advantage to the program’s large portion of ‘frequent buyers’, who maximise their points earn on everyday spend, and adds that financial services is one of the most popular ways to earn points in the program. Shares in Qantas (ASX:QAN) are trading at 0.9 per cent lower at $3.79.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Information Technology, adding 0.8 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Industrials, shedding 0.6 per cent.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Mesoblast (ASX:MSB), rising 8.9 per cent to $3.67, followed by shares in GWA Group (ASX:GWA) and Wisetech Global (ASX:WTC).

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Adbri (ASX:ABC), dropping 7 per cent to $2.19, followed by shares in Bega Cheese (ASX:BGA) and Sims (ASX:SGM).

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,772 an ounce.
The iron ore price rose 1.2 per cent to US$100.65.
Its futures are pointing to a fall of 0.4 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 69.57 US cents.
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Source: Finance News Network