The S&P/ASX 200 pushed above 7800 with new highs in sight. All ASX Sectors except Consumer Discretionary finished the day in the green with Property the best performer closing up almost 2% and Energy finishing up 1.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 finished the day 0.6 per cent higher at 7816 .
In the energy sector the big movers included large cap oil & gas names Santos and Woodside up over 1 per cent.
In Company news the board of property company McGrath has backed a takeover offer from Knight Frank and Bayleys. MEA shares closed 25 per cent higher at 58.5 cps.
In other M&A news MMA Offshore confirmed it has received a takeover offer from Cyan Renewables. MRM shares closed 10 per cent higher at 2.60 per share.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 60 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 4.25 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 8.75 points.
The SPI futures are up 47 points.
Best and worst performers
All sectors are in the black. The best-performing sector was REITs, up 1.78 per cent. The sector with the fewest gains was Consumer Discretionary, up 0.01 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Pro Medicus (ASX:PME), closing 3.85 per cent higher at $99.90. It was followed by shares in Fortescue (ASX:FMG) and Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ).
The worst-performing large cap was ALS (ASX:ALQ), closing 4.81 per cent lower at $13.07. It was followed by shares in IDP Education (ASX:IEL) and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company (ASX:SOL).
Asian markets
Japan's Nikkei has lost 0.66 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has gained 0.50 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.45 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2,192.40 an ounce.
Iron ore is 1.4 per cent lower at US$109.10 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.71 per cent rise.
Light crude is trading $0.48 higher at US$81.11 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.25 US cents.
