It was the last full trading session for the ASX in 2021, and the local benchmark index closed flattish, just 0.04% higher at 7,512.
The move followed S&P 500’s 70th record close overnight, with the Dow Jones also hovering at all time highs.
Major miners led the gains today, with stocks like BHP (ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) rising by 1% each.
COVID-19 fears continue to be top of mind for investors going into the New Year break, with cases seemingly spiralling out of control.
PM Scott Morrison is currently speaking at a press conference in Canberra, where he conveyed the national cabinet’s decision to narrow the definition of close contacts to household contacts, or “someone who has spent more than 4 hours with a confirmed case in a house”.
Another decision made by the national cabinet today was that large testing clinics could now offer PCR rapid tests for COVID-19.
BIG CAP WINNERS
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| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERA | Energy Resources | 0.35 | 6.0606 | 31738 | 1218156455 |
| SNZ | Summerset Grp Hldgs | 12.63 | 5.1624 | 5281 | 2764886546 |
| HTA | Hutchison | 0.12 | 4.3478 | 20281 | 1560838486 |
| AEF | Australian Ethical | 13.51 | 3.8432 | 160645 | 1462156665 |
| MFG | Magellan Fin Grp Ltd | 21.72 | 3.6754 | 1310800 | 3890687434 |
| BGA | Bega Cheese Ltd | 5.5 | 3.1895 | 1502520 | 1614910418 |
| OCL | Objective Corp | 19.9 | 3.1088 | 35343 | 1823900585 |
| HGH | Heartland Group | 2.42 | 2.9787 | 10563 | 1386111030 |
| 360 | Life360 Inc. | 9.82 | 2.8272 | 680412 | 1713415914 |
| NEC | Nine Entertainment | 2.92 | 2.8169 | 1623358 | 4843316839 |
| FCL | Fineos Corp Hold PLC | 4.65 | 2.649 | 37453 | 1444765412 |
| NWL | Netwealth Group | 18.23 | 2.5886 | 98672 | 4332553474 |
| CCX | City Chic Collective | 5.55 | 2.5878 | 457978 | 1254687665 |
| CEN | Contact Energy Ltd | 7.55 | 2.5815 | 4921 | 1811941376 |
Bega Cheese (ASX:BGA) rose 3% after announcing that mining billionaire Andrew Forrest has invested a further $100m to increased his stake in Bega to 6.6%.
Forrest made his investment through his Tattarang AgriFood Investments company.
Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR)’s US$1.865 billion acquisition of the MATSA Mining Complex has been approved by Spanish regulators.
The MATSA Mining Complex comprises three underground mining operations, and a world-class 4.7Mtpa central processing facility with state-of-the-art infrastructure.
BIG CAP LOSERS
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| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMU | Imugene Limited | 0.4 | -8.046 | 24385223 | $ 2,508,020,389.59 |
| IEL | Idp Education Ltd | 33.79 | -5.1376 | 898453 | $ 9,914,335,835.82 |
| RMS | Ramelius Resources | 1.515 | -4.1139 | 2120724 | $ 1,368,901,489.84 |
| HMC | Homeco Limited | 8.06 | -3.4731 | 151136 | $ 2,423,724,064.25 |
| GMA | Genworth Mortgage | 2.37 | -3.2653 | 1016267 | $ 1,010,659,750.80 |
| SWM | Seven West Media Ltd | 0.62 | -3.125 | 1013236 | $ 1,017,675,672.96 |
| VUL | Vulcan Energy | 10.24 | -3.122 | 1377395 | $ 1,391,092,310.86 |
| APT | Afterpay Limited | 82.5 | -3.0324 | 612474 | $ 25,249,034,457.24 |
| MEZ | Meridian Energy | 4.52 | -3.0043 | 49775 | $ 5,874,736,506.20 |
| HDN | Homeco Daily Needs | 1.515 | -2.8846 | 1001232 | $ 1,239,562,276.68 |
| COF | Centuria Office REIT | 2.39 | -2.8455 | 558258 | $ 1,465,280,099.82 |
| BRN | Brainchip Ltd | 0.69 | -2.8169 | 8329142 | $ 1,202,198,372.24 |
| HLS | Healius | 5.37 | -2.7174 | 3316286 | $ 3,439,829,742.24 |
| TLX | Telix Pharmaceutical | 7.59 | -2.6923 | 219602 | $ 2,223,568,682.40 |
Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) has refuted speculations in the media regarding a a possible transaction between BOQ and Humm (ASX:HUM).
BOQ said it was not not pursuing the transaction as speculated in the media article.
The BOQ stock price was down nearly 0.75%, while Humm rose by almost 4%.