Shares in Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) soar on new US deal: ASX tracking 0.4% higher at noon
The Australian share market opened higher this morning following positive leads from US markets. The ASX 200 Index is 27 points up or 0.4 per cent higher at 6714. On the futures market, the SPI is suggesting a rise of 29 points. Shares in Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) are up over 13 per cent after their subsidiary health imaging company Visage Imaging signs a new contract with a US healthcare company. While shares in Abacus Property (ASX:ABP) are down over 4 per cent.
Broker moves
Morgan Stanley upgraded their rating for Boral (ASX:BLD) to overweight from equal-weight with a price target of $5.80. The broker believes the housing momentum will continue this year led by infrastructure stimulus, affordability and a low rate environment. Shares in Boral (ASX:BLD) are trading 0.6 per cent higher at $4.97.
Company news
Centuria Office REIT (ASX:COF) has completed external valuations on 13 of its 23 investment properties, with 59 per cent of the portfolio valued independently. They show solid ongoing investment demand for quality office property with the portfolio value generally in-line with the preceding portfolio book value indicating a slight reduction of approximately $17 million or 0.8 per cent as at 31 December 2020. The company saw an increase in transactional activity in the second half of 2020 particularly in the metropolitan markets. Shares in Centuria Office REIT (ASX:COF) are trading 0.5 per cent lower at $2.08.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is information technology added 3.7 per cent while the worst performing sector is materials shedding 0.6 per cent.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) rising 13.7 per cent to $36.11 followed by shares in Afterpay (ASX:APT) and Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC).
The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Abacus Property (ASX:ABP) dropping almost 4.3 per cent to $2.77 followed by shares in Adbri Resources (ASX:ABC) and Oz Minerals (ASX:OZL).
Lastly, the Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1,850 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.1 per cent higher at US$169.51.
Its futures are pointing to a fall of 0.9 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 0.7751 US cents.
Copyright 2021 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
