RPMGlobal (ASX:RUL) completes Revolution acquisition: Aus shares 1.6% lower at noon
The Australian share market opened flat following a retreat on Wall Street overnight. The ASX has seen a steady decline over the first 2 hours of trade and is 1.6 per cent lower at midday. The producer price index for the second quarter was better than expected. Victoria has recorded 627 new cases in the past 24 hours and eight deaths.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 98 points lower at 5,953. On the futures market the SPI is 98 point lower.
Local economic news
The Australia Bureau of Statistics today released the Producer Price Index for June. Final demand (excluding exports) fell 1.2 per cent in the second quarter, following a 0.2 per cent drop the previous quarter. The drop is predominately attributed to falls in petroleum refining and petroleum fuel manufacturing, child-care services and other agriculture. The index has fallen 0.4 per cent over the past 12 months.
The Reserve Bank of Australia released private sector credit figures for the month of June. Private sector credit retreated 0.2 per cent last month; following a 0.1 per cent drop in May. Private sector credit is however up 2.9 per cent year on year.
Broker moves
Morgan Stanley rates the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) as underweight, with a 12-month price target of $63.50. The bank has indicated that a second half remediation provision for it’s aligned advice business is expected to be around $300 million pre-tax however the broker believes the disclosure is unlikely to influence the investment case. Provisions recognised to date for aligned advisers total approximately $834 million. Shares in Commonwealth Bank of Australia are trading 2.1 per cent lower at $71.65.
Company news
Mining software solution company, RPMGlobal Holdings (ASX:RUL) has today confirmed the successful acquisition of Revolution Mining Software. The newly-acquired company is headquartered in Canada and specialises in mine scheduling optimisation. Shares in RPMGlobal Holdings (ASX:RUL) are trading 1.1 per cent lower at $0.95 at noon.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector and the only sector in the green is Information Technology, adding 0.2 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Energy, shedding just over 3 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Super Retail Group (ASX:SUL), rising 9.4 per cent to $8.87, followed by shares in GWA Group (ASX:GWA) and NRW Holdings (ASX:NWH).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is AMP (ASX:AMP),dropping 12.2 per cent to $1.48, followed by shares in Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR) and Virgin Money UK (ASX:VUK).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1,968 an ounce.
Iron ore price is flat at US$110.58
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 0.7 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 72.12 US cents.
Copyright 2020 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
