ASX rises as tech rallies
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The news: The Australian sharemarket finished higher as most sectors rallied to start the week.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX200 gained 0.2% to 7,789.1, with nine out of 11 sectors finishing in green.
The top-performing sector was IT, up 1.19%, followed by utilities (0.83%) and industrials (0.66%). Location sharing app Life360 jumped 16.39% after it posted a record number of first quarter subscribers. It was also the best-performing stock across the ASX 200.
WiseTech gained 0.97% as it announced it had acquired Finnish electronic customs and freight forwarding solutions company Aktiv Data.
Meanwhile, small tech firm Qoria rose 33.33% to $0.42 after rejecting an unsolicited takeover offer from K1 that offered $0.4 per share, which Qoria said significantly undervalued the company.
Another top gainer today was Qantas, up 4.88%, after announcing its loyalty program update.
The worst-performing sector was energy, down 1.24%, followed by consumer staples (-0.98%) and financials (0.13%). Beach Energy plummeted 15.04% after the company identified more issues at its Waitsia gas plant that have increased capital expenditure costs.
On the consumer staples side, Coles (-1.34%) and Woolworths (-0.06%) both finished lower after the federal government released an interim report that recommended making the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct mandatory and to introduce penalties for future breaches.
Elsewhere, Elders tanked 24.21% after announcing its first half trading was “significantly below” expectations.
APM shares was also one of the worst performers, down 29.76%, after it received a “disappointing” takeover offer from its largest shareholder US private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners.
Meanwhile, Ansell was placed in a trading halt before it announced that it was set to acquire Kimberly-Clark’s personal protective equipment business for almost $1 billion, and SkyCity fell 1.33% after another executive resigned, this time its COO.
The Australian dollar is higher, buying US65.80 cents.
The context: This week will see the Australian Bureau of Statistics release the latest building approvals data and monthly business turnover figures. Santos and AMP will also hold their annual general meetings.
Offshore, latest US CPI figures along with the Fed’s meeting minutes will be released, while the European Central Bank will make its latest monetary policy decision.
