Righteo - the ASX is open for business today but there's a public holiday in Victoria for the AFL (what is it with sport and holidays there?) and then on Monday the ACT, NSW and SA are shut for Labour Day whilst QLD are celebrating the Queens Birthday - go figure????? Again trading can happen but there is likely to be low volume.
The Australian sharemarket has closed lower, dragged down by mining and banking stocks after commodity prices weakened and the royal commission’s interim report looms.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 11.1 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 6181.2 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index was 8.5 points, or 0.13 per cent, lower at 6299.3 points.
The ASX200 traded in a tight 18-point range all day.
The financial sector has closed lower for the fourth consecutive day as the first findings from the banking royal commission is expected on Friday.
Bell Direct equities analyst Julia Lee said the banks will be particularly impacted by the findings related to financial advice.
“It comes at a time when we are seeing a weaker outlook for the sector with lending slowing, competition increasing and expenses rising because of compliance and regulatory concerns,” she said.
Westpac shares lost the most ground, down 0.7 per cent to $27.61, while Commonwealth Bank suffered the least, down 0.1 per cent to $70.08.
The materials sector was down 0.3 per cent after copper, gold and iron ore prices all fell on Wednesday night.
Rio Tinto slipped one per cent, to $79.23, while gold miners Newcrest and Northern Star were down 1.4 and 2.1 per cent respectively.
Oil prices eased, too, after US data showed a surprise build in domestic crude inventories — Brent crude fell US53¢ overnight to settle at $US81.34 a barrel.
But this did little to dampen the energy stocks buoyed by Santos and Beach Energy announcing aggressive growth strategies.
Santos announced on Wednesday it wants to nearly double natural gas production to more than 100 million barrels of oil equivalent by 2025.
And Beach Energy shares shot to a more than 30-year high on Thursday after saying it plans to double production in the next five years. Its shares closed 7.5 per cent higher at $2.14.
A consortium led by Transurban finalised its purchase of a 51 per cent stake in Sydney’s Westconnex motorway.
The toll road company’s shares were higher after the announcement but slipped later, closing 0.7 per cent lower at $11.12.
The Australian dollar was barely affected by official data revealing total job vacancies rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.6 per cent to a record 238,200 in the three months to August.
The Aussie dollar was buying US72.26¢, from US72.61¢ on Wednesday.
Wall Street rose on Thursday, helped by gains in Apple, Alphabet and Facebook, as well as the U.S. Federal Reserve’s confidence in the strength of the economy after it raised rates for the third time this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55.13 points, or 0.21 percent, to 26,440.41, the S&P 500 gained 8.1 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,914.07 and the Nasdaq Composite added 51.60 points, or 0.65 percent, to 8,041.97.
Source: Netwealth Morning Business Roundup
Phew - we've made it to the end of the week. Here - have an Egg and Leek Tart along with your Coffee.
In consideration of others, PLEASE include the STOCK CODE in all your posts.
Happy trading, play nicely and make informed decisions.
