Webjet rises on UK travel company collapse: ASX tracking 0.1% lower at noon

The Australian share market rose at the open despite weak leads from Wall Street but failed to maintain the momentum and is now tracking 0.1 per cent lower at noon. Webjet (ASX:WEB) shares are on the up following the collapse of UK travel firm Thomas Cook. Qantas (ASX:QAN) have been called on to help their passengers stranded in all corners of the globe. 150,000 Brits are struggling to get home. Saracen Minerals (ASX:SAR) saw their shares rise after they released their sustainability report showing they reached a new Saracen record of 355,000 ounces of gold production. As for the sectors the Consumer Discretionary sector is leading the way, while the worst performing sector is Telcos.

The S&P/ASX 200 index is 4 points down at 6,746. On the futures market the SPI is 3 points higher.

Company news

Macquarie Media (ASX:MRN) has confirmed that John Singleton has signed over his stake in the group. Macquarie notes that Fairfax Media, Nine Bidder as at the date of this announcement, holds a relevant interest with voting power of 87.05 per cent. This gives Nine Entertainment (ASX:NEC) the shareholding it needs to takeover the radio broadcaster. Shares in Macquarie Media (ASX:MRN)last traded at $1.46.

Steadfast (ASX:SDF) is pleased to announce that its offer for Insurance Brokers Network Australia (IBNA) closed last night with acceptances received therefore having obtained a relevant interest in 100 per cent of IBNA shares. Steadfast will issue the consideration shares by no later than 21 days after the end of the offer period that being the 14th October 2019. Shares in Steadfast (ASX:SDF) are trading 0.1 higher at $3.62.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Consumer Discretionary, adding 0.4 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Communication Services, shedding 1.1 per cent.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR), rising 4.5 per cent to $1.39 followed by shares in Webjet (ASX:WEB) and Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CUV).

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is CYBG (ASX:CYB), dropping 4.2 per cent to $2.18, followed by shares in Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) and South32 (ASX:S32).

Asian markets

Japan’s Nikkei has added 0.2 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 0.1 per cent and the Shanghai Composite also added 0.1 per cent.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,521 an ounce.
Iron ore price rose 1.7 per cent to US$94.12
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 0.8 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 67.68 US cents.

Source: Finance News Network