by Peter Milios
The Australian stock market has recovered following encouraging performance in the United States, with the majority of sectors experiencing gains.
Information Technology leads the way, up 1.87 per cent at noon. This comes after a big boost from Xero, WiseTech and Computershare, up 2.1 per cent, 1.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively.
Overall, at noon, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.29 per cent higher at 7,028.90.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 48 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Information Technology, up 1.87 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Consumer Discretionary, down 0.95 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC), trading 3.85 per cent higher at $7.01. It is followed by shares in Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL) and Computershare (ASX:CPU).
The worst-performing large cap is Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN), trading 4.63 per cent lower at $2.68. It is followed by shares in Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ) and Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST).
Asian markets
Asia-Pacific markets were largely higher on Wednesday following a slightly cooler U.S. inflation report and as the fallout in the banking sector seemed to be contained.
The US consumer price index report for February came in at 0.4 per cent and an annualised increase of 6 per cent, in line with Dow Jones estimates.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened 0.52 per cent higher, while the Topix climbed 1.17 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi and Kosdaq also saw sharp rallies, opening 1.36 per cent and 2.32 per cent higher respectively after the country saw a lower unemployment figure in February.
Investors will be closely watching a slew of economic data releases from China today, with the country set to release its retail sales and industrial output numbers for February, as well as its one year medium term lending rate for March.
Company news
Recharge Metals (ASX:REC) has entered into a binding agreement to acquire 100 per cent of the Express Lithium Project in the prolific James Bay Region of Canada. Commenting on the Acquisition, Recharge’s newly appointed Managing Director, Felicity Repacholi-Muir, said: “James Bay is emerging as a world-class lithium province, with the Express Lithium Project located right at the heart of it and surrounded by significant lithium resources and discoveries.” Shares are trading 27.3 per cent higher at 14 cents.
MGC Pharmaceuticals (ASX:MXC) has enrolled the first patient in the proprietary data collection App and machine learning algorithm, ZAM, and monitor the effects of their epilepsy treatment, CannEpil. Roby Zomer, co-founder and Managing Director of MGC Pharmaceuticals, commented: “Consolidation of data is of paramount importance in ensuring the safety and efficiency of MGC’s proprietary products.” Shares are trading 6.67 per cent higher at 0.8 cents.
Synertec Corporation (ASX:SOP) has announced that Santos has placed an order for their Powerhouse technology, which focuses on the utilisation of 100 per cent renewable energy through predictive intelligence to power industrial-scale applications in remote locations. In response, MD Michael Carroll, said: “It has been exceptionally rewarding to see Powerhouse deliver such robust operational performance, through a multitude of extreme weather events, during the commercial scale field trial.” Shares are trading 17.4 per cent higher at 27 cents.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1782.70 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.5 per cent higher at US$133.00 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.53 per cent rise.
One Australian dollar is buying 66.80 US cents.
