The Australian share market opened higher this morning following positive leads from Wall Street. It is now tracking at 0.75 per cent higher at noon. The materials sector is leading the way and the consumer discretionary sector is trailing behind. Iron ore price rose 0.9 per cent to US$67.45 and its futures are pointing to a rise of 4.6 per cent. We are seeing the likes of Galaxy Resources
(ASX:GXY), Pilbara Minerals
(ASX:PLS) and SEEK
(ASX:SEK), dropping 8.9 per cent. The S&P/ASX 200 index is 47 points up at 6282. On the futures market the SPI is 35points higher.
Local economic newsANZ job ads are up 1.5 per cent month on month. This almost reverses the decline of 1.7 per cent recorded last month.
Company newsPackaging company Amcor
(ASX:AMC) has requested a trading halt fuelling speculation the company may make a bid for a large US company. Reports say Amcor is finalising a $7 billion buyout of rival Bemis Company, a plastics packaging group. Last traded at $15.28
International oil and gas company, Range Resources
(ASX:RRG) has been awarded a contract with Touchstone Exploration Trinidad. Range will provide turnkey services for initially drilling one well on Touchstone's onshore WD8 block in Trinidad. Shares in Range Resources
(ASX:RRG) trading is trading flat.
The Internet of Things, data management platform Buddy
(ASX:BUD) is pleased to be onboard the 2019 Airstream vehicle product line which start delivery this month. Airstream - the manufacturer of the world's most iconic recreational vehicles is a wholly owned subsidiary of 5.5 billion dollar company Thor Industries. Airstreams Smart Control Technology helps keep customers connected to the comforts of their home even when they are away from it. Shares in Buddy
(ASX:BUD) are 12.9 per cent higher at $0.10
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector is materials adding 1.5 per cent while the worst performing sector is consumer discretionaryshedding 0.1 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Galaxy Resources
(ASX:GXY), rising 4.4 per cent to $2.87, followed by shares in NIB Holdings
(ASX:NHF) and Pilbara Minerals
(ASX:PLS).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is SEEK
(ASX:SEK),dropping 8.9 per cent to $19.98, followed by shares in Appen
(ASX:APX) and Xero
(ASX:XRO).
Asian markets Japan’s Nikkei has added 0.2 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has added 1 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has lost 0.1 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar Gold is trading at $US1,217 an ounce.
One Australian dollar is buying 74.04 US cents.
CryptocurrenciesSome of the most traded cryptocurrencies are trading higher. Bitcoin has gained 2.7 per cent to US$7163, Ethereum gained about 2.4 per cent to US$415 and EOS gained about 2.5 per cent to US$7.17
