The ASX 200 has rebounded from yesterday’s loss though the technology sector has weighed on the market for two consecutive weeks.
The index closed 0.20 per cent higher, and is also up by 0.70 per cent for the week.
IT slumped by another 2.5 per cent today, and is down 10 per cent this week, after a 3 per cent fall the week before.
Afterpay (ASX:APT) was the biggest technology stock to fall today, down by 4.3 per cent. APT shares have now fallen by 19 per cent for the week.
Along with Afterpay, e-commerce pure plays like Kogan (ASX:KGN) and Redbubble (ASX:RBL), have also dropped in the past five days, with the global market seemingly rotating away from growth and tech.
Financials and materials led the gains today.
The big four banks all lifted, after Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) reported full year FY21 net profit of $3.01 billion, up 10 per cent on FY20. The bank reported final dividends of $3.35 per share. The MQG share price surprisingly closed 0.33 per cent lower.
Meanwhile, iron ore miners like Fortescue (ASX:FMG), BHP (ASX:BHP), and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) all rose after iron ore price set a new record, and surpassed US$200 per tonne over night.
ANNOUNCEMENTS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Fintech Quickfee (ASX:QFE) was one of the biggest winners on the ASX today, with its shares rising by 20 per cent. The company revealed that its lending products have taken off in the US, with its PayNow solution processing US$76.4 million in April 2020 alone – equating to an annual run rate of US$900 million.
Investors of aged-care services company Estia Health (ASX:ASX:EHE) have breathed a sigh of relief after the Federal Court approved a class action settlement against the company. The total settlement sum is $38.4m, with Estia having to pay $12.35m while the rest is paid by its insurers. The class action is over a spat with investors relating to an announcement for FY17.
Cancer drug company Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) announced that an Investigational New Drug (IND) was granted by FDA on evidence that its drug Veyonda may increase generally poor response rates of sarcoma cancers to chemotherapy. The company says this marks the company’s commitment to act on this valuable opportunity, with the appointment of a contract research organisation to oversee the study.
Biotech company Immutep (ASX:IMM) says the company is on track to report final data from its AIPAC Phase II metastatic breast cancer trial in H2 of calendar year 2021. The TACTI-00 Phase II clinical trial is also progressing well, and continuing to enrol 1st line lung cancer patients, with 54 patients now having received at least the first treatment.
TRADING HALTS
Monday
MGC Pharmaceuticals (ASX:MXC) – ArtemiC findings
Sportshero (ASX:SHO) – partnership
Australian Rural Capital (ASX:ARC) – capital raising
Neometals (ASX:NMT) – battery recycling study
Tuesday
Challenger Exploration (ASX:CEL) – tenement position update
Victory Mines (ASX:VIC) – assay results
Health House (ASX:HHI) – acquisition
New Age Exploration (ASX:NAE) – capital raising
DomaCom (ASX:DCL) – media clarification
Inventis (ASX:IVT) – capital raising