ASX 200 opens higher; Beach Energy, a2 Milk lead gains

The Australian share market opened on a positive note on Monday, as an uptick in local miners due to rising commodity prices seemed to have overshadowed worries over a potential default from China's debt-laden Evergrande. The ASX 200 was up 0.25% or 18.7 points to 7,361.3 in the opening session.

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Wall Street's Dow Jones and S&P 500 edged higher on Friday, finishing a volatile week with slight gains, supported by gains in Tesla and Facebook that offset a fall in Nike.

The Dow Jones rose 0.1%, to 34,798, while the S&P 500 gained 0.15% to 4,455.48. The NASDAQ Composite ended almost flat, falling 0.03% to 15,047.70.

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How has the market performed so far?

By 10:30 AM AEST, the ASX 200 had gained further by 0.56% or 41.4 points to hit 7,384, supported by miners. The ASX All Ordinaries index was trading 0.43% or 32.8 points to 7,682.1.

Data Source: ASX Website (as of 27 September 2021, 10:30 AM AEST)

The top ASX 200 contributors in the early session were Beach Energy Limited (ASX:BPT) and The a2 Milk Company Limited (ASX:A2M), both gaining 2.95% and 2.8%, respectively. On the flip side, stocks that were losing momentum were Gold Road Resources Limited (ASX:GOR) and Perseus Mining Limited (ASX:PRU), both shedding 2.05% and 1.42%, respectively.

Miners such as BHP Group Limited (ASX:BHP), Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX:FMG) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX:RIO), were all trading higher.

Coming to the market breadth, seven out of the 11 sectors are trading higher today. The Metals and Mining sector is leading with a 0.3% gain, followed by the Energy sector’s 0.18% rise. The IT and Healthcare sectors are among the losing ones for the day.    

Newsmakers

1. Sigma Healthcare Limited (ASX:SIG)

• The company has initiated a takeover bid for Australian Pharmaceutical Industries.
• Under the conditional proposal, API shareholders would receive 35 cents in cash apart from 2.05 Sigma shares for each API share.
• After the takeover, API shareholders will own an approximately 48.8% stake in the combined company.

2. Metal Hawk Limited (ASX:MHK)

• The company’s shares on the ASX will be placed under a trading halt from today.
• The management is to release an announcement regarding the material exploration results from its Berehaven Nickel Project.
• The securities will remain in trading halt until the earlier of 29 September 2021 or when the announcement is made.

3. Limeade, Inc. (ASX:LME)

• The company has received a notice of contract termination from American Airlines.
• This termination, should it not be reversed, will come into effect from 1 January 2022.
• The Contracted Annual Recurring Revenue (CARR) associated with that contract is US$1.9 million.

4. Silex Systems Limited (ASX:SLX)

• The company has announced an equity raising plan of approximately AU$33 million through an institutional placement.
• A AU$7 million capped Share Purchase Plan will also be offered to eligible shareholders.
• The funds would be used for working capital, scale-up of Zero-Spin Silicon production capacity, development of additional applications of the SILEX technology, etc.

5. Castillo Copper Limited (ASX:CCZ)

• Castillo Copper has requested the ASX to put its shares under trading halt from today.
• The management is to release an announcement regarding the option to acquire two material exploration projects.
• The securities will remain in trading halt until the earlier 29 September 2021 or when the announcement is released to the market.

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