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16^th Jul 04:57 PM AEST

Miners, healthcare helps ASX rack up best gain in six weeks

Australian?shares?closed higher in volatile trade, on the back of smart recovery in the final hour of day’s trade. Gains in blue-chip mining and health care stocks offset losses in energy and telecom shares. The market remained under pressure today as the country’s two largest cities Melbourne and Sydney went into lockdown to break the chain of the growing COVID-19 pandemic.

The?S&P/ASX200?ended 12.20 points or 0.17% higher at 7,348.10. Earlier today, the benchmark index opened lower and declined as much as 0.3% to hit a low of 7,316. Over the last five sessions, the benchmark index gained over 1%, the highest in in the last six weeks.

Among the individual stocks, coal miner Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) was the top percentage gainers on the ASX pack, rising 4.3%. Meanwhile, gold miner Evolution Mining Limited (ASX:EVN) was the top loser, falling over 5%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall strength of the market, was positive with six of the 11 sectoral indices ending in green. The consumer discretionary sector was the top performer with 0.55% gain. Among others, health care, A-REIT, industrial and material were notable gainers.

Meanwhile, energy sector was the worst performer with 0.65% loss. Among others, telecom, utilities, financial and information technology were top laggards.

The information technology staged smart recovery and closed marginally lower, paring early losses. In tech space, Afterpay Limited (ASX:APT) and fellow Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) companies closed with sharp weekly losses as concerns over rising inflation as well as fear of competition from global players spooked investors.

In energy space, index heavyweight Woodside Petroleum (ASX: WPL), Ampol Limited (ASX:ALD) while Santos (ASX:STO) and Oil Search Ltd (ASX:OSH) ended in red zone.

In mining sector, index heavyweights BHP Group (ASX:BHP) and Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) were among top gainers. Bucking the trend, Rio Tinto closed lower after reporting a production slip at its Pilbara operations over the previous quarter.

Among gold stocks, sectoral major Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) and Chalice Mining (ASX:CHN) ended lower.

In banking sector, all the Australia’s big four lenders - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ASX:ANZ), Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX:WBC) and National Australia Bank Limited (ASX:NAB) – ended in negative terrain.

16^th Jul 03:43 PM AEST

Pacific Smiles (ASX:PSQ) revises FY earnings forecast, shares fall

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Shares of Pacific Smiles Group Ltd (ASX:PSQ) fell to their lowest levels since 1 June, down as much as 2.7% to AU$2.5.

The dental centres operator shared that it sees underlying EBITDA for fiscal 2021 to be about AU$33.1 million, towards the lower end of previous outlook range.

In February, the Company has said it expects FY 2021 underlying EBITDA growth of about 40%-50%, as compared with reported underlying 2020 profit of AU$8 million.

The Company stated results have been affected by COVID-19 restrictions in Melbourne and New South Wales.

While all the sites remain open, there has been a negative impact on patient attendance and fees, said PSQ.

Pacific Smiles is on track for its biggest intraday percentage loss since 9 July 2021.

The stock is largely unchanged this year, as of the last close and was 0.779% down at AU$2.550 per share at 3:35 PM AEST.

16^th Jul 03:33 PM AEST

Webcentral (ASX:WCG) and 5G Networks (ASX:5GN) agree to merge

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5GN Networks Limited (ASX:5GN) and Webcentral Group Limited (ASX:WCG) announced that they have agreed to merge. The merger will be implemented by way of the Scheme, under which Webcentral will acquire 100% of the fully paid ordinary shares in 5GN.

The shareholders of 5GN will receive two Webcentral ordinary shares for each 5GN share held at the Scheme record date and 5GN will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Webcentral.

As per the release, after implementation of the Scheme, 5GN shareholders will hold approximately 52% of the combined entity and Webcentral shareholders will own the remaining 48%.

5G Networks is a telecommunications carrier operating in Australia and currently owns and operates its own Nationwide highspeed data network while Webcentral is a digital services firm having more than 330,000 customers.

16^th Jul 03:17 PM AEST

Integrated Research (ASX:IRI) soars 16% on strong outlook

Integrated Research Limited (ASX:IRI) jumped as much as 16% to AU$2.28 and is set for its best one-day performance since January 2019.

The software maker stated it expects its annual revenue to be at the top end of a range announced earlier and profit to exceed the guided range.

The Company cited a flurry of new contracts signed and renewals towards the close of the reporting period for the outlook bump up.

IRI shares are at their highest level in over a month today.

More than 1.4 million shares have been traded so far.

The stock is top percentage advancer on the ASX All-Ordinaries index AORD.

At 3:04 PM AEST, the stock was 10.714% up at AU$2.170 per share.

16^th Jul 03:01 PM AEST

Australian energy stocks hit 2-week low as oil prices slump

The Australian energy sub-index AXEJ fell as much as 0.9%, hitting its lowest since 2 July 2021.

The ASX-listed energy stocks have been taking cues from the oil prices that declined for the straight third day on Friday because of supply worries. Also, OPEC is likely to add more barrels amid anticipations that demand is returning as more countries have recovered from the pandemic.

Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX:WPL), Australia's biggest independent gas producer, led losses on the sub-index, fell as much as 1.6%.

Oil and gas explorer Worley Limited (ASX:WOR) fell 0.61%.

Papua New Guinea-focused oil and gas explorer Oil Search Limited (ASX:OSH) tumbled as much as 1.8%.

The stock is up ~2% YTD, as of the last close.

16^th Jul 01:44 PM AEST

Almonty, Western Mines, NobleOak, 4 others to list on ASX next week

Representative image of Initial Public Offering (IPO) Source: © Adrian825 | Megapixl.com

The busy month of July continues to see a surge in initial public offering (IPO) activity. As many as six companies are expected to debut on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) next week.

The Buzzing Trends || IPO Watch: Exciting Upcoming IPOs under the Radar

In the first fortnight of July, more than 20 companies have already started trading on the ASX, including some big names such Aerison Group, 29Metals, BlueBet Holdings, PEXA Group. Some more players such as Almonty Industries, BCAL Diagnostics, NobleOak Life, Openn Negotiation, Victory Goldfields, Western Mines Group and Western Gold Resources are slated to list on ASX next week.

16^th Jul 01:43 PM AEST

Keytone Dairy (ASX:KTD) rises on securing debt financing facilities

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Shares of Keytone Dairy Corporation Limited (ASX:KTD) rose as much as 11.111% to AU$0.150, their biggest intraday percentage gain since 8 July 2021.

The dairy product manufacturer said it has increased its available funding with secured debt financing facilities.

The Company stated ANZ Bank has provided NZ$1 million trade finance facility for the New Zealand dairy business, increasing the total available debt financing in New Zealand to NZ$3 million.

The Company added it also has secured a trade debtor finance facility of AU$7 million with Moneytech for the Australian Contract Manufacturing and Brands business.

The increased debt financing facilities will be deployed for organic growth initiatives, new contract wins and a growing sales pipeline in Australia and NZ, shared CEO Danny Rotman.

More than 1 million shares have been traded so far.

The stock has fallen 46% this year, as of the last close.

16^th Jul 01:34 PM AEST

Electro Optic Systems (ASX:EOS) gains on Australian Defence Force contracts

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Shares of space and defence tech firm Electro Optic Systems Holdings (ASX:EOS) gained as much as 4.9% to AU$4.25 per share, their biggest intraday percentage jump since 2 June 2021.

The Company has awarded contracts worth AU$20 million with the Australian Defence Force in the last month.

The Company said while contracts will not have a material impact on 2021 forecast, they will underpin revenue in 2022.

The contracts are for advanced technology research and development activities in electro-optic sensors, among other areas, EOS informed.

Though the stock is down 31.5% this year, it was trading 3.456% higher at AU$4.190 per share at 1:20 PM AEST.

16^th Jul 01:25 PM AEST

ASX off day’s low; Rio, Afterpay extend fall

Australian?shares?continued to trade lower by afternoon, albeit reversing most of opening losses, as weak global cues and alarming COVID-19 surge in the country dented market sentiment. The announcement of Victoria’s fifth lockdown and rise in daily case tally also pushed the market lower.

The?S&P/ASX200?was trading near baseline, down just 4 points to 7,332 by the lunch. Gains in realty, health care and utilities stocks helped the index pare early losses.

Earlier today, the benchmark index opened lower and declined as much as 0.3% to hit a low of 7,316.

Concerns about the COVID-19 situation in the country continued to weigh on the market. In the last 24 hours, NSW reported 97 new locally acquired cases, compared to 65 registered Thursday.

On the sectoral front, six of the eleven sectors were trading lower, led by tech and energy stocks. The information technology sector extended losses for the third consecutive session as renewed concerns about the global economic outlook spooked demand for growth driven stocks.

Bucking the trend, A-REIT, health care, utilities, industrial and consumer discretionary stocks were trading higher with marginal gains.

Among the individual stocks, Coal miner Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) was the top percentage gainers on ASX pack, rising 5.3%. Some of the other notable gainers were G.U.D Holdings Limited (ASX:GUD), InvoCare Limited (ASX:IVC), Polynovo Limited (ASX:PNV) and Ingenia Communities Group (ASX:INA).

On the flip side, gold miner Evolution Mining Limited (ASX:EVN) was top loser, falling nearly 4.5%. Some of the other notable losers were Mesoblast Ltd. (ASX:MSB), Altium Limited (ASX:ALU), HUB24 Limited (ASX:HUB) and Mineral Resources Limited (ASX:MIN).

16^th Jul 01:13 PM AEST

Buddy Technologies (ASX:BUD) tanks on discounted capital raising

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Shares of Buddy Technologies Ltd (ASX:BUD) tanked as much as 46.5% to AU$0.023, their biggest intraday percentage loss since 13 March 2008.

The cloud-based data management platform has received firm commitments for placement to raise AU$6.5 million.

Placement at offer price of AU$0.025 per new share, is a 41.9% discount to the last closing price of AU$0.043 on 23 April 2021, after which the trading of BUD’s securities was suspended.

BUD will also be undertaking entitlement offer to raise up to ~AU$10 million.

The Company added it has entered into binding arrangements with China's Eastfield Lighting (Hong Kong) Ltd to settle all amounts owing in respect to line of credit facility and historical accounts payable.

BUD stated it has also restructured its existing $10 million term debt facility with San Francisco-based Partners for Growth VI, L.P. (PFG).

Buddy Technologies said proceeds from the capital raising will be used to repay lenders.

the stock is down 17.3% this year, as of the last close and was 41.861% lower at AU$0.025 per share at 12:50 PM AEST.

16^th Jul 12:56 PM AEST

Shriro Holdings (ASX:SHM) tumbles as cyber security incident impacts system

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Shares of kitchen appliances and consumer products distributor Shriro Holdings Limited (ASX:SHM) slipped as much as 7.4% to AU$1.065 – their biggest intraday percentage fall since 30 March 2021.

The Company stated it has faced a cyber security incident that involved unauthorised access to its operating system.

“There is a possibility that data on our systems has been accessed and the company is continuing to ascertain the extent to which data has been accessed”, said Shriro Holdings in a statement.

The Company said it has notified the Australian Cyber Security Centre and engaged a cyber forensics firm to conduct an investigation.

The stock has hit its lowest level since 28 May 2021.

SHM is on track to post a second consecutive session of losses but overall is up 42.9% this year so far.

At 12:30 PM AEST, the stock was 4.348% lower at AU$1.100 per share.

16^th Jul 12:53 PM AEST

Australia's Evolution Mining falls as FY21 production misses guidance

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Evolution Mining Limited (ASX:EVN), the gold miner shed as much as 6.5% to AU$4.63 on Friday.

The Company stated its FY21 gold production is about 680,788 ounces, 2% below the bottom end of its guidance.

EVN expects FY21 final dividend to be in a range of 4 to 6 Australian cents per share, compared with final dividend of 9 CPS in FY20.

Also, the Company shared FY21 sustaining capital of AU$105 million, below its guidance of AU$113 million-AU$138 million.

The company is now executing a growth strategy focused on sustainable high margin ounces. Sustainable, long life, low cost, and high margin assets will be EVN's cornerstone for the future.

As a part of its growth strategy, EVN plans to grow the group annual gold production to over 900koz from FY24. The EVN Board approval of projects at Cowal and Red Lake have also extended mine lives to 15+ years with upside potential. EVN shared that it will support the Cowal Underground Project for sustainable annual production of 350koz from FY24. EVN is also targeting sustainable annual production of 350koz at Red Lake value realisation projects from FY26.

Meanwhile, the stock has posted its biggest intraday percentage fall since 17 February.

EVN is down about 1% this year, as of the last close and was spotted trading 4.445% lower at AU$4.730 per share on the ASX at 12:07 PM AEST.

16^th Jul 11:57 AM AEST

Apple's likely entry sets Australia's BNPLs up for big weekly losses

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Afterpay Limited (ASX:APT) and fellow buy now, pay later (BNPL) companies are heading for sharp weekly losses on competition concerns.

Weekly losses deepened on Friday as Afterpay and Zip Co Ltd (ASX:Z1P), Australia's No.2 BNPL firm, extended their declines.

Pure-play BNPLs have been pummeled since a report on Tuesday said Apple was likely to enter the U.S. market, the sector's biggest prize.

APT is set for a 13% drop in its sharpest weekly fall in more than two months, shedding AU$4.9 billion since the report; Zip is heading for its worst week since early September, giving up ~17% so far and Sezzle Inc (ASX:SZL), the only one among the top Australia-listed BNPL trio to rise on Friday, also heading for a near 6% weekly drop.

SZL is up 2.628% on Friday, extending gains into a second session after U.S. credit card company Discover Financial Services agreed to invest $30 million.

PayPal Holdings also lent weight to competition concerns by announcing it would do away with late fees and lower the minimum spend in Australia, aggressively looking to take share off Afterpay and Zip.

16^th Jul 11:55 AM AEST

Ingenia Communities (ASX:INA) jumps to top of ASX 200 on outlook hike

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Retirement village owner Ingenia Communities Group (ASX: INA) gained as much as 7.2% to AU$6.29, posted its biggest intraday percentage gain since 8 June 2021.

The Company stated it now expects FY21 EBIT to be above 30% of FY20's AU$71.9 million, compared with the previous guidance of 15%-20% growth.

INA also expects FY21 underlying EPS to rise 5% from last year's 22.1 cents, compared with its previous view of 1-2 cents decline.

The Company informed the hike in outlook is due to strong performance across operations and settlement of 380 new homes for the year and that it is entering FY22 with a positive outlook.

The stock is the biggest percentage gainer on the ASX 200 benchmark index AXJO.

INA is up 19.3% this year, as of the last close and was trading 2.299% higher at AU$6.005 per share at 11:40 AM AEST.

16^th Jul 11:43 AM AEST

Norwood (ASX:NOR) shares move 35% upon receipt of POs for FY22

Norwood Systems Ltd (ASX:NOR), the telecommunications company, reported receipt of Purchase Order (PO) from long-term customer Spark NZ for FY 22. Spark NZ has supplied NOR with a PO for approximately NZ$639,000.

The PO concerns a previously signed agreement between the two. NOR, as per the agreement, had provided a Spark-branded version of NOR’s World Voicemail service and application. It was to be used by Spark NZ subscribers and was made available on the New Zealand App Stores. In addition, a multi-site, geo-redundant on-premises visual voicemail solution was also delivered by NOR in October 2020.

As per NOR management, Spark NZ has been an excellent customer. It has been essential for showcasing the substantial benefit Telco clients can receive by implementing visual voicemail solutions. Given the facts, NOR therefore is looking forward to growing its relationship further.

NOR shares have moved up 35% and trade on ASX at AU$0.025 at 10:51 AM AEST.

16^th Jul 11:26 AM AEST

China’s aluminium output falls on power curbs

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The primary aluminium output in China during June tumbled for the second consecutive month as curbs in power consumption in the country’s smelting hub, Yunnan reined in supply.

The world’s top metal producer has churned out 3.29Mt in June, nearly 9.3% up y-o-y, as per the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. However, the production in June was down from May’s figure of 3.32Mt.
The production in the first of 2021 surged to 19.64Mt, nearly 10.1% above from the previous year on the back of higher commodity prices which reached decade-high levels.
Yunnan, a province in China, contributes around one-tenth of the country’s aluminium capacity. The province has rich hydropower sources and it has ordered smelting plants to reduce energy consumption in late May after a drought dented the supply from hydropower sources.

16^th Jul 11:23 AM AEST

Crude oil dips on expectations of supply gluts by OPEC

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Crude oil prices tumbled nearly US$1 per barrel on Thursday on expectations of a supply glut as the spat between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates come to an end.

September delivery crude oil futures traded 0.11% up at US$73.33 per barrel, whereas August delivery WTI crude oil futures traded 0.08% down at US$71.59 per barrel as of 16 July 2021 at 10:32 AM AEST.
The slide in crude oil prices has continued Wednesday's losses after the Kingdom and the UAE reached an agreement to supply more crude oil into the market.
Talks among the OPEC and its allies, together known as OPEC+ broke down this month after the UAE opposed extending the group's supply pact beyond April 2022.
A rise in US crude oil inventories to the week ending 4 July has also weighted the crude oil prices.

16^th Jul 10:50 AM AEST

Greenvale (ASX:GRV) appoints new CEO to aid project advancement

Greenvale Mining Limited (ASX:GRV), the minerals explorer in Queensland, announced the appointment of Matthew Healy as the CEO. The appointment is effective from 1 September 2021.

Healy is a highly experienced geologist and an Australian mining executive. His appointment comes as a part of GRV’s initiative to build its senior leadership team. As per GRV, it is looking to include the appropriate skills, experience and talent amongst company leadership.

GRV is also seeking to unlock the potential available at its Alpha Torbanite Project in Queensland and its Georgina Basin IOCG Project in the Northern Territory. The Company is fast-tracking development at Alpha and aiming production next year. It is also preparing to commence an extensive drilling program at IOCG Project.

Healy has Masters of Science honours (Geology) from the University of Auckland and has over 15 years of work experience at major mining companies. His commercial acumen and capabilities GRV believe will prove helpful in the final stages of the DFS at Alpha. It will help GRV advance the project to commercial operation.

GRV shares traded 1.352% lower at AU$0.365 at 10:39 AM AEST.

16^th Jul 10:48 AM AEST

Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) reports 12% fall in shipments in FY2021 Q2, shares drop too

Rio Tinto Limited (ASX:RIO), the metal and mining giant, released its Q2 production results. RIO compared results to the second quarter of 2020.

Key Highlights –

RIO’s Pilbara iron ore production of 75.9 million tonnes was 9% lower. It was affected by above-average rainfall in the West Pilbara.
Shipments by RIO were 12% lower, along with an additional drawdown of inventories.
Bauxite production of 13.7 million tonnes was 6% lower. It was affected by system instability from severe wet weather in Eastern Australia.
Aluminium production of 0.8 million tonnes was 4% higher. It was because of smelters operating in full capacity.
Titanium dioxide slag production was 14% higher due to consistent production at the Fer et Titane (RTFT) metallurgical complex in Quebec.
Production of pellets and concentrate at Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) was 2% lower due to labour and equipment unavailability.
RIO reported mining rates to be slower and has thus scheduled high-grade production for late 2021 to 2022.
COVID-19 restrictions and tightened labour market has curbed access to experienced skill sets.
RIO also entered into four partnerships to move ahead its value chain decarbonization.
On 17 June 2021, Peter Cunningham was appointed as CFO and executive director of RIO. On 4 June, Ben Wyatt also became a non-executive director.

The Stocks in Action || How? is? ASX performing? after ?Wall Street slid to lower levels?

Triggered by the results, RIO shares traded 1.190% down at AU$129.580 at 10:40 AM AEST.

16^th Jul 10:37 AM AEST

Incannex (ASX:IHL) engages Procaps for production of IHL-675A, shares trade strong

Clinical stage pharmaceutical development company, Incannex Healthcare Limited (ASX:INX) announced on Friday that it has engaged Procaps S.A. to develop the specific formulation for IHL-675A, IHL’s anti-inflammatory multi-use drug product with Procaps´ proprietary patented Unigel technology.

Procaps is outfitted to deliver an end-to-end service that includes formulation development, clinical trial supply and subsequent commercial manufacture.

Development at Procaps is supported by its own vigorous intellectual property portfolio. This gives access to a range of proprietary formulation and manufacturing technologies for the IHL-675A finished product. This includes but not limits Procaps´ proprietary patented Unigel technology which consists of an apparatus and process for encapsulating capsules or other solid dosage form within capsules.

As per Incannex, Procaps has extensive scientific expertise, having developed over 500 formulations for both pharmaceutical and nutritional products reaching over 50 markets globally. It is the largest integrated contract development and manufacturing company in Latin America and are ranked within the top three companies globally for soft gel manufacturing capacity.

Meanwhile, the stock IHL was spotted trading 1.851% strong at AU$0.275 per share at 10:30 AM AEST.

16^th Jul 10:17 AM AEST

ASX 200 opens flat after US stocks close mostly lower

The Australian share market opened marginally down on Friday after US stocks closed mostly lower in the overnight trade. The benchmark ASX 200 opened down 5.50 points to 7,330.40. On Thursday, the ASX 200 closed 0.26% lower at 7,335.90.

By 10:15 AM (AEST), the ASX 200 was trading 0.13% lower at 7,326.40.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones recorded a 0.15% gain, to 34,987.03, but the S&P 500 slipped 0.33%, to 4,360.04. The NASDAQ Composite fell 0.70%, to 14,543.14.

The weakness in US stocks was on account of renewed concerns about the global economic outlook after a report from China's National Bureau of Statistics revealed that Chinese GDP growth slowed by more than expected in the second quarter.

The broader All Ordinaries index was down 0.172%, while the ASX 200 VIX Index was up 0.169%. The market was dragged down by energy and information technology sectors. Healthcare and consumer discretionary were trading in the green.

Meanwhile, the commodity price sensitive Australian dollar was trading 0.05% higher, at 0.7427.

The Australian 10-year bond yields were trading 1.16% lower, at 1.282.

Newsmakers

Crown Resorts (ASX:CWN) announced that it had closed its Melbourne gaming, retail, and dining facilities during the Sydney’s five-day lockdown. However, the hotel facilities remain open.

Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) said that its iron ore production fell 9% in the second quarter from the corresponding period last year.

Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN) has increased its three-year gold production forecast to 900,000 ounces.

Auckland International Airport (ASX:AIA) said that the international passenger number increased by 468% in June after quarantine free travel from Australia was permitted.

Ingenia Group (ASX:INA) said that it now expects FY 2021 earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to finish up 30% from the last year.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced it will take no further action over its probe into AMP’s (ASX:AMP) ‘fees for no service’ criminal conduct.

16^th Jul 10:11 AM AEST

Strickland Metals (ASX:STK) acquires Yandal East Gold Project

Strickland Metals Limited (ASX:STK) gave an update in relation to its binding agreement with Renegade Exploration Limited (ASX:RNX) to acquire RNX’s interest in the tenements that comprise the Yandal East gold project.

Strickland shared that the parties have now executed a formal sale and purchase agreement.

As per the Company release, the Tenements remain subject to a Joint Venture with Zebina Minerals Pty Ltd, whereby RNX holds a 75% interest in the tenements, with Zebina holding the residual interest.

According to the Company’s release, after the acquisition, Strickland is now the 75% owner of the Yandal East Gold project and will assume RNX’s interest in the Joint Venture.

The Yandal East Gold project lies immediately to the south of the Company’s flagship Horse Well gold project. It is approximately 320kmsq in size and lies roughly 30km due east of Northern Star Resources Limited’s 10m oz+ Jundee operation.

Meanwhile, the stocks STK and RNX traded last at AU$0.045 and AU$0.006 per share on the ASX.

16^th Jul 09:53 AM AEST

Volpara (ASX:VHT) expands IP portfolio with new European patent

Volpara Health Technologies (ASX: VHT), a health technology software company whose integrated breast care platform assists in the delivery of personalised breast care, has recently been granted another patent by the European Patent Office. This takes the total number of patents to 98.

As per the Company’s announcement, this newest patent is applicable in 25 European countries, and delineates the Volpara technique of image quantification.

The current patent underlines the enhanced evaluation of numerous quantitative measures from lowdose images, allowing highly accurate assessment of a woman’s breast composition at an early age, and also the calculation of her baseline risk of breast cancer. Also, the improvements will help optimise medical workflow.

Research studies are suggesting that patients should get a baseline mammogram done to evaluate their breast density and breast cancer risk before they reach the screening age of 40. Patient who is getting a high breast cancer risk score should be directed to begin annual screenings earlier than usual, the Company statement said.

On the ASX, the stock of the firm, VHT was spotted trading at AU$1.160 per share.

16^th Jul 09:39 AM AEST

ASX 200: How is the market likely to open on Friday?

On the last day of the week, the ASX 200 is set to open flat, as major Australian cities such as Sydney and Melbourne battle the COVID-19 outbreak, while stronger copper and gold prices are expected to help local miners

On Thursday, a measure of global stock markets slipped from near-record highs, the US dollar inched up, while bond yields traded lower as investors ponder over the Fed’s inflation outlook and upbeat assessment of the US economy.

In the forex market, the US dollar had climbed in recent weeks as market participants take stock of the Fed's increasingly upbeat assessment of the US economy, which for some investors have brought forward the timeframe for its next rate hike. It was up 0.2% to 92.603 but fell to as low as 92.272 earlier in the session.

In the cryptocurrency space, Bitcoin fell 3.3% to US$31,733, the lowest level since 27 June 2021 as it reaches around the lower end of a month-long consolidation. Dogecoin and Ether both were down 4.52% and 2.49%, respectively.

Read more: Updates on Bitcoin

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