Happy hump day!
Another warm day in Melbourne and back to back catch ups for the PEAK team in the city.
After one too many coffees, a midweek beer might be on the cards.
Across Markets…
A tech rout pushed the ASX lower on Wednesday, ahead of key US inflation data expected later tonight.
The S&P/ASX closed 53 points, or 0.7 per cent, lower at 7153.9. The All Ordinaries dropped 0.8 per cent.
Tech stocks had their worst session so far this month, ending 1.6 per cent lower, with sector heavyweights WiseTech Global, Xero and NEXTDC all dropping more than 1 per cent.
Materials, industrials and real estate stocks also charted declines of more than 1 per cent.
IGO, which entered ex-dividend trading on Wednesday, was the worst performing on the benchmark, down 7.6 per cent.
Viva Energy fell 2.4 per cent. The fuel retailer confirmed that major shareholder Vitol was selling a 16 per cent of its stake in the company. The $714 million block trade, first revealed by The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column, will bring the oil trading giant’s remaining stake to around 30 per cent. Fellow fuel retailer Ampol fell 1.4 per cent.
Pact Group jumped 7.4 per cent, after billionaire businessman Raphael Geminder revealed plans to take the struggling packaging manufacturer private. Geminder’s Kin Group, which owns a 50 per cent stake in Pact Group, made a 68¢ per share off-market takeover offer for the remaining stake. Shares last traded at 72.5¢.
Among small-caps, drug developer Starpharma jumped 23.1 per cent after positive interim results for its cancer drug, DEP irinotecan.
Dreadnought Resources was up 1.9 per cent after posting high-grade neodymium and praseodymium results from its WA-based project.
Household cleaning products company Pental jumped 30.2 per cent, following news it’s selling its consumer products business to paints group Dulux. The deal, which excludes Pental’s Duracell and Bondi Soap brands, is valued at $60 million.
Small-cap mineral explorer Tempus Resources surged more than 40 per cent before shares were halted late in the session ahead of an announcement. Shares remain halted.