Sluggish start to week, Nickel prices & companies soar: Aus shares 0.1% lower at noon

02Sep

Sluggish start to week, Nickel prices & companies soar: Aus shares 0.1% lower at noon

 

A sluggish start to the trading week, after the market gained 1.8 per cent last week with the IT sector surging 7 per cent.

We had mixed leads from the get-go today with US stocks changing little on Friday, but the S&P500 saw a Stella gain last week, rising 3 per cent, its best weekly performance since June.

Nickel prices skyrocketed to five-year highs on Friday after a government official at major producing country, Indonesia said the country would ban ore exports from December. This is boding well for Western Areas (ASX:WSA) and Independence Group (ASX:IGO). While, Gold prices fell on Friday on a slight recovery in equities markets and Treasury yields.

Turning to the chart, The S&P/ASX 200 index is 0.1 per cent or 9 points down at 6,595, snapping its four-day winning streak, with most of the local sectors in the red. On the futures market the SPI is 2 points higher.

Local economic news

Australian manufacturing, Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI) notched a positive start to new financial year. The reading was also better than expected, with the Australian Industry Group Australian PMI rising 1.8 points to 53.1 in August, on increasing levels of production and rising exports. The market was only expecting the reading to rise from 51.3 to 51.6. Readings below 50 points indicate contraction in activity, and above 50 indicates the strength of the market.

Broker moves

Citi has upgraded Link Group (ASX:LNK) from a neutral to a buy, also bumping up its 12-month price target from $5.45 to $6.20. However, Citi has dropped its EPS target on a significant rise in depreciation and amortisation charges, almost double what the international bank forecasts. Citi says Link’s businesses still face challenging conditions, and its major costs overruns now seem to be more contained. Its trading 1 per cent higher at $5.54.

Company news

Western Areas (ASX:WSA) shares surged to a year high, jumping 13 per cent ealrier, after it JV project with St George Mining (ASX:SGQ) reported a new discovery of high-grade nickel-copper sulphides at their Mt Alexander Project, in the north-eastern Goldfields. Western Areas has a 25 per cent stakes while the smaller company, St George Mining (ASX:SGQ) has a 75 per cent stake. The new discovery is in an area that has never before been drilled, and more than 1km east of the nearest known sulphide mineralisation (at the Cathedrals Prospect). Shares in Western Areas (ASX:WSA) are trading 12.3 per cent higher at $2.79 at noon. While shares in the small cap, St George Mining (ASX:SGQ) hit a year high, a high the company last reaches in March this year.

Netwealth Group (ASX:NWL) advised that Michael Heine’s entity, Heine Brothers sold down about 3 per cent of the company, after selling down 7.1 million shares at a price of $7.70 on Friday 30 August 2019. It’s the first time the Heine family and its entries have sold shares since it listed in November 2017. Following the sale, the Heine family has 60.7 per cent of the shares. Shares in Netwealth Group (ASX:NWL) are trading 1.2 per cent higher at $7.72 at noon.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is S&P/ASX Materials, adding 0.3 per cent, while the worst performing sector is S&P/ASX Energy, shedding 1.2 per cent.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Speedcast International Limited (ASX:SDA), rising 23.2 per cent to $096, followed by shares in Western Areas Limited (ASX:WSA) and Independence Group Nl (ASX:IGO).

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Incitec Pivot Limited (ASX:IPL),dropping 5.1 per cent to $3.04, followed by shares in Pinnacle Investment Management (ASX:PNI) and Bendigo And Adelaide Bank Limited (ASX:BEN).

Asian markets

Japan’s Nikkei has slipped 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has slipped 0.2 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has added 0.4 per cent.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,525 an ounce.
Iron ore price gained 3.9 per cent to US$84.66
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 3.7 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 67.30 US cents.
 
Copyright 2019 – Finance News Network


Source: Finance News Network

Share this post

Related Posts

09Apr

RBA eases concerns about rising housing prices: Aus shares trading 0.4% lower at noon

09 Apr 2021 - Falls in consumer staples and energy drove the Australian sharemarket downwards in the early hours of trade. The RBA has eased concerns about rising housing prices, citing no abnormal debt increase.

Read More
11Mar

SEEK (ASX:SEK) appoints CFO: ASX tracking 0.6% lower at noon

11 March 2021 - The ASX has retreated after lifting higher following mixed leads from the US and is now tracking 0.6% lower at noon. Technology stocks faded in the first hour of trade on the back of the tech heavy Nasdaq closing lower. Likes of Afterpay (ASX:APT) are dragging the Technology sector shedding 7.5% with Xero (ASX:XRO) dropping 2.3%. On the other hand, travel stocks have lifted on the back of the Federal Government's tourism package that will...

Read More
16Dec

Aussie Home Loans to merge with Lendi: ASX tracking 1.1% higher at noon

16 Dec 2020 - The ASX opened higher this morning with the S&P/ASX 200 Index 75 points up or 1.1% higher at 6,707. Shares in Service Stream (ASX:SSM) are falling today despite announcing they have just secured a significant long-term agreement with the nbn. Shares in Perseus Mining (ASX:PRU) are currently performing the best.

Read More
05Aug

Wall St lower, Square to acquire Afterpay for $39bn, Credit Suisse cuts Fortescue & Iress ratings: ASX to rise

02 Aug 2021 - Major indexes across the globe closed in negative territory on Friday as rising Covid-19 cases put a lid on sentiment over the pace of the economic recovery, while Asian markets closed the week out with a tumble. Square is set to acquire Afterpay (ASX:APT) for $39 billion. Why Citi downgrades its rating for Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG) and Iress (ASX:IRE). Earnings season kicks off locally.

Read More
01Jul

S&P/ASX 200 Index down 10.7% across the year: ASX poised to open lower

01 Jul 2020 - The ASX looks set to start the new financial year by opening lower. For the year to date, the S&P/ASX 200 Index is still down 10.7%, that’s its worst 12 months since the global financial crisis. In the US, Fed Reserve chairman Jerome Powell reiterated overnight that the future of the economy is “highly uncertain”. The Dow Jones meanwhile just wrapped up its best quarter since 1987. AMP (ASX:AMP) has today completed the sale of...

Read More
08Jul

Consumer staples lead the sectors: ASX tracking 0.4% lower at noon

08 Jul 2020 - The Australian share market took a dip at the open and is now tracking almost 0.4 per cent lower at noon. Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) saw a rise in their shares today. Shares in Domain Holdings (ASX:DHG) took a dip. Sezzle (ASX:SZL) has made some key changes to its leadership team today.

Read More
16Jun

Nasdaq gains as tech stocks jump, why Universal Biosensors is a buy: ASX to lift

15 Jun 2021 - In this report, we cover a wrap up of Wall St’s mixed performance ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting. A weekly overview of the ASX last week, why Universal Biosensors (ASX:UBI) is a buy with a chart analysis for Stockwatch. There are 8 companies slated to make their debut along with an overview of local and international economic news.

Read More
07Feb

Dow Jones rises amid corporate earnings and Fed rate cut outlook

07 Feb 2024 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed on Tuesday as Wall Street assessed the latest batch of corporate earnings and the timeline for rates cuts from the Federal Reserve.

Read More
27Mar

Afterpay (ASX:APT) shares on the rise as they weather the storm: ASX tracking 0.5% lower

27 Mar 2020 - The ASX shot up at the open but took a downward turn in late morning trade and is now tracking 0.5% lower at noon. Shares in Afterpay Touch (ASX:APT) are rising today after a bit of a rollercoaster. Co-Founder and CEO Anthony Eisen insists the company has enough cash to weather the storm, while business activities are yet to be impacted by COVDID-19. The Decmil Group (ASX:DCG) released delayed results today to fully understand the...

Read More
23Jul

Wall St climbs on earnings, Broker ratings for IAG & Hub24: ASX to rise

22 Jul 2021 - Wall St and across Europe continued its rally as nerves eased on the rising Covid-19 cases. Investors turned their attention to company earnings results which helped boost optimism. A rally was seen in oil prices and in treasury bond yields while Asian markets were mixed. Why is IAG (ASX:IAG) a buy and why Macquarie downgrades Hub24 (ASX:HUB).

Read More