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The share market turned positive for the week as bank and energy stocks fuelled a third straight rise.
At the halfway mark of the session, the ASX 200 was ahead 43 points or 0.6 per cent at 7020 after earlier rising as much as 61 points.
The market wobbled mid-morning as economic data came in mixed, then accelerated as Asian markets opened ahead. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.2 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 1.7 per cent. The Shanghai Composite was lately up 0.2 per cent in choppy trade. S&P 500 index futures edged up six points or almost 0.2 per cent.
The local energy sector extended yesterday’s tentative rebound, rising 1.5 per cent after US energy stocks outperformed overnight. The US energy sector jumped 3.1 per cent as the S&P 500 climbed 1.13 per cent to a record close. Sector leader Woodside gained 1.7 per cent, Origin Energy 1.6 per cent and Santos 1.3 per cent. Brent crude advanced 64 cents or 1.2 per cent this morning to $US55.92 a barrel.
The heavily-weighted financial sector did much of the lifting on the eve of a big week of interim corporate reports. Commonwealth Bank and NAB, which both report results next week, rose 0.9 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively. ANZ climbed 0.9 per cent to its highest level in three months. Westpac put on 1.9 per cent. Broker upgrades helped money manager Janus Henderson add 6.7 per cent.
Shares in property group Dexus traded unchanged after the company a 36.9 per cent increase in half-year net profit after tax to $994 million. Mirvac Group skidded 3.5 per cent after the developer reaffirmed full-year guidance.
Agribusiness Elders was the pick of the index as substantial rains on the east coast raised hopes of a long-awaited break in drought conditions. Shares in the company jumped 7.3 per cent to their highest level since November 2018.
A mid-morning fade briefly accelerated after mixed reports on the economy. Retail sales sagged a seasonally-adjusted 0.5 per cent in December, more than twice what economists expected. However, sales volumes increased over the quarter, providing a welcome shot in the arm to GDP. Trade figures disappointed, with the surplus contracting to $5.2 billion from $5.5 in November. The dollar rose 0.06 per cent to 67.49 US cents.
Gold dropped $2.80 or 0.2 per cent to $US1,560 an ounce.
What’s hot today and what’s not:
Hot today: Investors love a good turnaround story, and if anyone should know how to sell one, it’s a marketing company. Crowd Media (ASX: CM8) spelled it out for shareholders with an ASX release headlined “Crowd Media achieves significant financial turnaround”. The release proclaimed a reversal in the firm’s fortunes from a $1.3 million loss in underlying earnings over the first half of the last financial year to a loss of just $36,000 in the first six months of this FY. Shareholders liked what they heard, jacking the share price 45 per cent to a two-month peak.
Not today: Shares in wind farm operator Infigen Energy (ASX: IFN) caught a chill after Canadian asset manager Brookfield put shares up for sale, ending speculation of a possible takeover. Brookfield, which bought a 9 per cent stake in the Australian company in 2018, offered 86 million shares today with a price tag of 71 cents, according to the Australian Financial Review. The price tag represented a steep discount to yesterday’s closing price of 80 cents. Shares traded well below the mooted offer price, lately down 12 cents or 15 per cent at 68 cents.
