ASX swings into red as HMC Capital tanks
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: Australian shares rubbed out early gains to swing into negative territory, as Commonwealth Bank retreated and HMC Capital shed more than 15%.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.4 points, or 0.01%, to 8,541.9 at 2:30pm AEST. Six of the 11 sectoral indices were in the red.
Investment manager HMC Capital led losses, down 15.3%, after announcing a one month delay to its acquisition of French renewable energy company Neoen’s assets in Victoria.
There were mixed fortunes for big banks as CBA fell 1% and ANZ added 1.8%.
Meanwhile, troubled education services provider IDP surged 9% to top ASX 200 gains.
Biotech Mesoblast was the next best performer, climbing 8.5%, after confirming progress with the US Food and Drug Administration over ischemic heart failure treatment Revascor.
Insignia Financial pared early gains of more than 10% to trade 5.8% higher, after US private equity firm CC Capital said it was working towards making a binding bid for the wealth manager.
Australian shares open higher; Insignia rockets on takeover update
More news: Australian shares climbed in early trading, tracking gains on Wall Street overnight.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 24.8 points, or 0.29%, to 8,567.1 at 10:30am AEST. 10 of the 11 sectoral indices were in the green.
Wealth manager Insignia Financial was the best performing ASX 200 company, jumping 10.5% after confirming that long-term suitor CC Capital is working towards making a binding bid for the company.
Tech stocks added 1.3%, with Life360 (3.6%) and Xero (2.4%) among the morning's best performers.
Meanwhile, investment manager HMC Capital shed 8.3% after announcing a one month delay to its $950 million acquisition of French renewable energy company Neoen’s assets in Victoria.
SGH fell 4.2% after the Stokes family-controlled investment conglomerate announced that Boral CEO Vik Bansal will step down next year.
Australian shares to open lower despite Wall Street notching gains
The news: Australian shares are set to slip at the open even as Wall Street stocks closed higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices securing their best quarters since 2023.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: down 6 points, or 0.1%, to 8,531
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.63%, S&P 500 up 0.52%, and Nasdaq up 0.47%
- Europe: CAC 40 down 0.33%, DAX down 0.51%, and FTSE 100 down 0.43%
- Spot gold: up 0.88% to USD3,303 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 0.21% to USD66.60/bbl, and US WTI down 0.84% to USD64.97/bbl
- AUD: up 0.72% to 65.79 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 0.10% to USD107,495.
The context: The three main Wall Street stock indices ended higher overnight, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq capping double-digit gains for the quarter.
The S&P 500 was up 10.57% over the period, the Nasdaq up 17.75%, and the Dow up 4.98%.
However, all three indices recorded their weakest first-half performances since 2022, after being rattled by US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff strategy in April.
Despite recent trade deals with China and the UK easing investors' concerns, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Monday that countries could still face sharply higher tariffs on 9 July, even if they are negotiating in good faith.
