- ASX regains ground after early losses.
- Troubled casino giant Crown Resorts receives a takeover bid from Blackstone.
- Mining stocks fall on back of weakening iron ore prices.
The S&P/ASX200 has finished the morning up 0.34% higher after a mixed morning of trade.
Mining stocks have taken a hit after iron ore prices fell 3.5%. Heavy rain on the east coast has also impacted on insurers.
Looking at the top 5 biggest gainers in morning trade. Crown Resorts was up more than 17% on the back of a takeover bid. Grainscorp was up 6% to $4.77 per share. IDP Education rose 3.8%, while Incitec Pivot Fertiliser and Iph Limited both rose more than 3%.
The biggest losers were in the mining stocks following falls in iron ore prices. Pilbara Minerals was down 4.3%, Fortescue Metals 3.7%, while NRW Holdings fell 3.5%. Galaxy Resources and Sims Metal both finished the morning with falls above 2%.
A spotlight on troubled casino Giant Crown Resorts. Stock prices have risen 17.24% this morning to $11.50 on the back of a takeover bid by private equity firm Blackstone. The James Packer-backed group has announced it received the proposal worth $11.85 per share, valuing the company at more than $8 billion.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar has fallen slightly against the major currencies and is trading at 77 US cents. It?s fetching ?0.64 and 83.97 Japanese Yen.
Bitcoin is trending downwards and trading at US$55,581.53 at 1:40pm AEDT.
In commodities, the big mover is iron ore, down 1.34% to US$165.58 tonne. Gold is trading slightly weaker. Oil Brent is up 1.98% to US$64.53 a barrel and Oil WTI up to 2.40% to US$61.44 a barrel.