Ventilator demand from Covid sees Resmed (ASX:RMD) rise: ASX closes 0.7% higher
It has been a positive day of trade for the Australian share market, the local bourse managed to close 0.7 per cent higher. Shares in Resmed (ASX:RMD) took a dip despite reporting a 54 per cent increase in full year net income after fourth quarter earnings were boosted by pandemic demand for its ventilators. The Scentre Group (ASX:SCG) shares were also down today. As for the sectors today materials closed the day higher and real estate investment trust fell lower.
The S&P/ASX200 index
At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 41 points higher to finish at 6,042..
Futures market
Dow futures are suggesting a rise of 88 points.
S&P 500 futures are eyeing a rise of 4 points.
The Nasdaq futures are eyeing a lift of 3 points.
And the ASX200 futures are eyeing a 41 point rise tomorrow morning.
Company news
Village Roadshow (ASX:VRL) is looking to raise a minimum of $35 million through new shareholder equity or equity like instruments. All Queensland based operations are currently open, operating at a reduced capacity to comply with Covid safety protocols. This includes restricting entry numbers to 50 per cent of capacity for each major theme park.Cinemas in metropolitan Melbourne and some areas of Victoria are closed. Meanwhile, cinemas across the rest of Australia are operating under social distancing rules in each State or Territory. Shares in Village Roadshow (ASX:VRL) closed 1.4 per cent lower at $2.10.
The Scentre Group (ASX:SCG) expects at its August 25th earnings announcement to report net operating cashflow after interest, overheads and tax "in excess" of $250 million for the year to June.
As a result of the Victorian government decision to move to Stage 4 restrictions in metropolitan Melbourne for a period of 6 weeks in response to the Covid-19 situation, 30 Lovisa (ASX:LOV) stores across Melbourne will temporarily close. 19 of their stores in California have been closed since 14th July, and 2 stores in New York are still closed.
The unified call recording service and voice intelligence cloud Dubber Corporation (ASX:DUB) has moved from early adopter program to general availability for eligible Telstra customers who sign up to Dubber’s services.
We have an IPO today, Dynamic Drill and Blast Holdings (ASX:DDB) came supplier of drilling and blasting services to clients in the mining and construction sectors in Western Australia. Issued at 20 cents, opened at 50 cents and closed at 45 cents.
Best and worst performers of the day
The best performing sector was materials adding 2.5 per cent while the worst performing sector was real estate investment trust, shedding 0.6 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Ooh!Media (ASX:OML), rising 8.3 per cent to close at $0.78. Shares in Monadelphous Group (ASX:MND) and Harvey Norman (ASX:HVN) followed higher.
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Resmed (ASX:RMD), dropping 7.4 per cent to close $25.88. Shares in Vicinity Centres (ASX:VCX) and Nearmap (ASX:NEA) followed lower.
Asian markets
Lower: Japan’s Nikkei has lost 0.4 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 1.4 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has lost 0.4 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2,049 an ounce.
Iron ore price is 0.2 higher at US$118.10.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 2.9 per cent.
Light crude is US$0.24 higher at US$42.43 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 72.07US cents.
Copyright 2020 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
