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The Australian share market shook off some more grim economic predictions and took back all of yesterday’s lost ground this afternoon.
The fourth night of consecutive gains on Wall Street set the local share market up for success, with our resource stocks primed to take advantage of the increasing price of commodities.
However, the market faltered after lunch when Prime Minister Scott Morrison said heightened Victoria restrictions are expected to shave between $7 billion and $9 billion off of our GDP in the September quarter. This is far worse than the original prediction of around $3.3 billion.
Nevertheless, by the end of the day, the ASX 200 had staged a modest rebound and managed to close 0.68 per cent higher at 6042.2 points.
As expected, the materials sector upstaged all others as it tacked on 2.47 per cent today. BHP comfortably led the resource victory as it gained 4.93 per cent, while Fortescue gained 1.48 per cent and Rio Tinto gained 3.61 per cent. The wins were underpinned by a one-year high in the spot price of iron ore, which peaked at US$118 per tonne overnight.
It was a mixed day for our gold stocks despite the price of the yellow metal edging even higher and now sitting comfortably above the psychologically-significant US$2000 per ounce. Newcrest gained 0.46 per cent and Northern Star lost 0.85 per cent. Evolution gained 1.14 per cent and Saracen lost 1.16 per cent.
The only sector to come close to materials today was energy, spurred on by Santos’ 3.8 per cent gain. Woodside gained 16 per cent, Ampol gained 2.23 per cent, and WorleyParsons gained 5.37 per cent.
Mixed results from our big banks kept the financials sector subdued. NAB gained 0.77 per cent, Westpac 0.78 per cent, and ANZ 1.03 per cent. Commonwealth Bank almost closed red but managed to put on a skinny 0.01 per cent before the end of the day.
Meanwhile, our supermarket giants dragged staples stocks into the red. Woolworths lost 0.23 per cent and Coles lost 1.12 per cent. Dairy specialist The A2 Milk Company fell by 1.53 per cent.
As for our Eastern neighbours, it’s red across the board for major Asian indexes this afternoon. The Asia Dow is currently keeping the worst of the losses at bay, down 0.09 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is down 0.5`1 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is down 1.48 per cent. The Shanghai Composite is down 0.53 per cent.
The Aussie dollar is currently higher against US currency and lower against the Pound sterling. One dollar is buying 72.12 US cents, 54.74 pence, and 12.47 South African Rand.
Today’s ups and downs
Human resources tech specialist IntelliHR (ASX:IHR) comfortably topped the gainer’s list today after landing a $2.5 million investment from tech whiz Bevan Slattery. The entrepreneur spoke highly of the company’s tech in a world where working from home is crucial for many businesses. Along with the Bevan Slattery investment comes a $3 million entitlement offer, and the market likes the whole package. Shares in IHR closed 160.27 per cent higher worth 19 cents each today.
Meanwhile, junior explorer Odin Metals (ASX:ODM) tumbled after releasing some disappointing drill results from its Monte Azul project in brazil. While the results are certainly not as bad as they could be, all zinc intersections were fairly deep underground, with most hits coming at a depth of between 150 metres and 303 metres. Moreover, the highest-grade among the lot was 9.82 per cent zinc. Investors didn’t like it, and ODM shares lost 20.51 per cent to close at 3.1 cents each.
