ASX finishes in green after seesaw session; Domino’s up, Block down

The laggards

Resmed stayed at the bottom of the bourse all day, losing 9.3 per cent of its share price, while Afterpay owner Block suffered 5.8 per cent. Syrah Resources closed 4.2 per cent lower.

The lowdown

The Reserve Bank released its statement on monetary policy today, but analysts said forecasts were left largely unchanged from the central bank’s May statement.

“We continue to expect it to hike once more, though we acknowledge that data is paramount and may persuade the bank to stay on hold,” Barclays analysts wrote in a note. “We think a downside surprise on services inflation will be needed for the RBA to stop raising rates.”

The next meeting will be the last led by governor Phillip Lowe before his deputy, Michele Bullock, takes the top job.

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Shares in Afterpay’s owner, Block, slumped 5.8 per cent despite the US company beating earnings expectations. It reported adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of US$384 million for the latest quarter, up more than 100 per cent compared with the same quarter last year.

On Friday morning, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) vetoed what would have been the biggest transaction in Australian banking since Westpac’s 2008 takeover of St George during the global financial crisis.

Suncorp initially slid 0.9 per cent on the news but finished Friday’s session 0.6 per cent higher.

Stem cell biotech Mesoblast lost more than half (56.9 per cent) its share price value after it revealed it had been asked by the US Food and Drug Administration to provide further evidence in its bid to secure the necessary approval for its flagship therapy, remestemcel-L.

Overnight, Wall Street stocks slipped as its red-hot rally for the year cooled a bit more.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3 per cent for its third-straight loss after setting a 16-month high. The Dow Jones dropped 0.2 per cent and the Nasdaq composite dipped 0.1 per cent. The Australian sharemarket is set to edge lower with futures at 6.45am AEST pointing to a dip of 7 points, or 0.1 per cent, at the open. The ASX slid 0.6 per cent on Thursday.

A day earlier, US stocks tumbled to their worst loss in months. While the drop came after Fitch Ratings downgraded the US government’s credit rating, several analysts say they expect the move to have minimal impact on financial markets. US Treasury debt is the cornerstone of the global financial system, but the downgrade by itself probably won’t push any investors to dump theirs.

IPhone sales slid for Apple.Credit: Bloomberg

Two hugely influential companies reported their results after trading ended for the day. Apple and Amazon are two of the largest companies on Wall Street by market value, which gives their stock movements more heft on the S&P 500 and other indexes.

Across the Atlantic, the Bank of England on Thursday raised its main interest rate to a 15-year high and indicated it could stay high for a while.

Tweet of the dayQuote of the day

“The chief executive of Qantas or Virgin will always have a relationship with the government. There are a lot of things I disagree with the government on, as well as lots we do agree on. That’s the way it works. It is just nonsense that we have unbelievable influence and I don’t know how that mindset has developed.”

That’s Qantas outgoing CEO Alan Joyce, who was rejecting allegations the federal government is in his pocket, after an application from Qatar Airways to add flights to Australia was rejected without explanation.

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Penfolds maker Treasury Wine Estates’ share price closed 2.7 per cent higher and at one point of the session was the bourse’s best performer.

It might be because wine enthusiasts and investors are looking favourably upon China dropping its tariffs against Australian barley, putting an end to a three-year dispute that went to the World Trade Organisation and helped relations between Beijing and Canberra fall to historic lows.

Investors and wine merchants are hopeful wine exports might be headed in the same direction.

AP

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