- The ASX200 is trading 0.73% lower at 7366.50 after lunchtime.
- EML Payments jumps 4% on FY22 outlook and update on CBI.
- Creso Pharma tanks 8% on non-executive chair?s office raided by AFP.
The Australian market rallied in morning trade before pulling back to trade 0.73% lower this afternoon at 7366.50 after lunchtime as financial stocks weigh down the ASX, led by the Commonwealth Bank which is tumbling on the release of its Q1 results.
Australia?s wage growth rose 0.6% QoQ in the September quarter and 2.2% YoY for the quarter, in line with analysts estimates according to data out today. The wage growth is a positive sign of recovery in the jobs market post pandemic, but the RBA wants to see annual growth of 3% to keep inflation in the sustainable 2-3% target range.
The tech sector is rallying today, up nearly 2% after midday led by Appen surging 5.06%, EML Payments jumping 4.63% and Megaport trading 3.2% higher.
Bitcoin has tumbled 3.93% over the last 24-hours to trade at US$59,620.50 at 1:30pm AEDT.
Payment card technology solutions company EML Payments is popping today following the company?s AGM this morning and an update on EML?s battle with CBI. The company?s outlook for FY22 includes expectations of revenues between $230m-$250m, EBITDA of $58m-$65m and net profits after tax and amortisation of $18m-$34m. The company also said the outstanding issues with the Central Bank of Ireland should be settled without any long-term impact on the company.
Making headlines, shares in Creso Pharma are tumbling more than 8% today following a report from the AFR that unveiled the Australian Federal Police had raided the Sydney offices of Creso Pharma?s non-executive chair, Adam Blumenthal. The relevance to Creso Pharma of the raids related to EverBlu is that EverBlu was involved with a bonus options issue last month, which if exercised in total, will see Creso raise $100m from the 25c/option payoff.
And Google has announced a US$740m investment in Australia over the next five-years to build a research hub, increase its cloud computing capacity and fund partnerships with local organisations down under.