by Peter Milios
At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.22 per cent lower at 7,263.30, with losses in the real estate and financials sector offsetting gains by tech stocks.
Tyro Payments (ASX:TYR) dropped 16.6 per cent to $1.28 after news that Potentia has withdrawn from takeover discussions.
City Chic (ASX:CCX) fell 1.3 per cent to 38¢ after reporting a 15.2 per cent decline in group sales for the 45 weeks to May 14 compared to the same period last financial year.
New Hope (ASX:NHC) advanced 0.8 per cent to $5.15 following a quarterly update indicating an increase in underlying EBITDA in the three months to April.
Silver Lake Resources (ASX:SLR) dropped 3.7 per cent to $1.03 after improving its bid for St Barbara’s West Australian assets.
All four major banks in Australia experienced declines of over 0.5 per cent.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 35 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 3.25 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 4.75 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 16 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Information Technology, up 1.54 per cent. The worst-performing sector was REITs, down 0.76 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC), closing 2.54 per cent higher at $73.01. It was followed by shares in Santos (ASX:STO) and Xero (ASX:XRO).
The worst-performing large cap was Allkem (ASX:AKE), closing 3.85 per cent lower at $15.00. It was followed by shares in Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) and JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH).
Asian markets
Japan’s Nikkei has gained 0.83 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 1.25 per cent.
China’s Shanghai Composite has lost 0.24 per cent.
Company news
Austco Healthcare (ASX:AHC) has been awarded a $3.9M contract to supply its advanced IP nurse call system for a new aged care facility. Austco Healthcare CEO, Clayton Astles, said, “This contract win is a testament to the strength of our product offering and our commitment to delivering innovative solutions.” Shares closed 13 per cent higher at 13 cents.
Spacetalk (ASX:SPA) has launched the Adventurer 2 smartwatch, an all-in-one smartwatch, phone and GPS safety device for children aged 5-12. CEO and MD Simon Crowther, said, “Today’s launch illustrates execution against several key initiatives enabling our return to growth, notably enhancing Spacetalk’s product ecosystem.” Shares closed unchanged at 3.1 cents.
EBR Systems (ASX:EBR) reports positive results for its pivotal SOLVE-CRT trial, paving the way to FDA Approval. Allan Will, Chairman of EBR Systems commented, “[the result] validates EBR’s technology as a key treatment for those suffering from cardiac arrhythmia.” Shares closed 10.5 per cent higher at $1.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1,975.00 an ounce.
Iron ore is 1.7 per cent lower at US$108.40 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 2.5 per cent fall.
Light crude is trading $0.59 lower at US$70.96 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 66.35 US cents.
