Australia Market ends firmer

Headline indices of the Australian financial market closed slight higher in lackluster trade on Friday, 15 February 2019, as risk sentiments muted amid ongoing U.S.-China trade negotiations in Beijing. At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished up 6.7 points, or 0.11%, at 6,066.1 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 9 points, or 0.15%, at 6,148.6.

The finance sector was higher, with three of the four big banks saw gains, led by ANZ, which was up 1%, to A$26.81. NAB edged 1 cent lower to A$24.22.

Among individual stocks, Domain shares shot up 21% to A$2.53, as the real estate listing company's A$156.4 million first-half loss was apparently less than investors had expected.

 

Bega Cheese gained 7.4%, to A$5.09, after the dairy company said it would build a A$34 million plant at the Murray Goulburn Koroit factory in western Victoria it bought last year for A$250 million.

Whitehaven Coal shares closed down 6.7%, to A$4.47, after spooking investors with news of lower sales and increased coal production costs.

Automotive Holdings Group shares skidded 8.2% after it said it would recognise a non-cash impairment of A$226 million when it reports earnings next week, reflecting soft market conditions in the automotive retail sector.

CURRENCY: Australian Dollar appreciated against greenback and against a basket of other peers on Friday. The Australian dollar was at $0.7089 after seeing an earlier high of $0.7107.

OFFSHORE MARKET NEWS: US stock market closed lower after the release of U.S. retail data in December came in far below expectations. The S&P 500 slipped 0.27% to close at 2,745.72 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 103.88 points to finish its trading day at 25,439.39. The Nasdaq Composite, on the other hand, edged up by 0.1% to close at 7,426.95.

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