Payroll jobs rise in Victoria: ASX closed 0.2% higher

It has been a positive day of trade for the Australian share market the local bourse managed to close 0.2 per cent higher. Although many sectors did close in the red with Infotech faring the worst.

The S&P/ASX200 index

At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 14 points higher to finish at 6,498.

Futures market

Dow futures are suggesting a fall of 82 points.
S&P 500 futures are eyeing a dip of 17 points.
The Nasdaq futures are eyeing a rise of 1 point.
And the ASX200 futures are eyeing a 14 point rise tomorrow morning.

Local economic news

Payroll jobs rose 1.0 per cent in Victoria over the fortnight to 31 October and 0.5 per cent nationally, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today. Nationally, payroll jobs remained 3.0 per cent lower than mid-March; 6.0 per cent lower in Victoria and 2.0 per cent lower in the rest of Australia.

Company news

Charter Hall (ASX:CHC) wholesale partnership Long Wall Hardware Partnership, acquired a $353 million portfolio of six Bunnings assets located in prime metropolitan markets. The portfolio, 85 per cent of which is located in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, has a WALE of 10 years and 2.5 per cent annual rent reviews. The off-market deal was introduced to Charter Hall by Sam Hatcher of JLL which comprises VFMC, Telstra Super and CHC as partners. Shares in Charter Hall (ASX:CHC) closed almost 6 per cent lower at $13.59.

Volpara Health Technologies (ASX:VHT) has today announced the launch of BreastED, a first-of-its-kind online breast density training tool in collaboration with DetectED-X.

Afterpay Limited (ASX:APT) today announced the appointment of Nick Molnar as co-CEO and Managing Director, sharing the role with current CEO and Managing Director, Anthony Eisen.

Champion Iron Limited (ASX:CIA) has acquired the Kami Project belt in southwestern Newfoundland, near the Québec border of Canada.

IPO

Native Mineral Resources Holdings Limited (ASX:NMR) started trading today after failing to launch yesterday because of a technical glitch on the ASX. The Mining and Exploration company issued at $0.20, started trading at $0.24 and is closed at $0.20.

Universal Store Holdings Limited – (ASX:UNI) started trading today, their shares issued at $3.80, trading at $4.34 and are currently at $4.50.

Best and worst performers of the day

The best performing sector was Energy adding 3.4 per cent while the worst performing sector was Infotech, shedding 2.8 per cent.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Unibail Rodamco Westfield (ASX:URW), rising 16.3 per cent to close at $4.65. Shares in Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) and Viva Energy Group (ASX:VEA) followed higher.

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Charter Hall Group (ASX:CHC), dropping almost 6 per cent lower to close at $13.59. Shares in NextDC(ASX:NXT) and Saracen Mineral Holdings (ASX:SAR) followed lower.

Asian markets

Mixed: Japan’s Nikkei has added 0.4 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has added 0.2 per cent and the Shanghai Composite has lost 0.3 per cent.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,888 an ounce.
Iron ore price is 1.4 up at US$124.07
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 2.2 per cent.
Light crude is US$0.31 higher at US$41.65 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 73.20US cents.

Source: Finance News Network