S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) rallied strongly to be up 40 points in the first 30 minutes of trade but has given early gains back headed into the afternoon session.
Insurance broker outfit Austbrokers (ASX:AUB) downgraded earnings this morning while Emeco (ASX:EHL) confirmed it is on track for 40% growth in operating EBITDA for FY19.
Shares in Afterpay came out of trading halt this morning following the capital raising and traded very strongly, up 9% at one stage.
Afterpay shares have now settled to be trading up 5.5% at $25.50, which is VWAP for the day.
[REPORT] Miners push local shares higher for a sixth session but losses for banks keep gains in check https://t.co/oAjhc68j0M #ausbiz pic.twitter.com/mUwMgSSiLZ
— CommSec (@CommSec) June 12, 2019
Pre-market: S&P/ASX 200 eyes new all-time highs, Afterpay raising $330 million
ASX 200 futures are pointing to another green session after the market closed on highs yesterday not seen since late 2007.
The ASX 200 is closing in on its all-time high of 6828.70, which was reached in November of 2007.
Both the S&P 500 Index (INDEXSP:.INX) and the Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) gave back their opening gains over the day to close flat.
Beyond Meat Inc (NASDAQ:BYND), which listed in early May was down 25.02% to US$126.04 but the stock is still well up on its US$25 IPO price.
Two RBA assistance governors speak in Melbourne today
At around 9.30am AEST today, RBA Assistant Governor (Financial Markets) Christopher Kent is due to deliver brief remarks at the Australian Renminbi Forum in Melbourne with audience questions expected.
This evening at around 7.00pm AEST, RBA Assistant Governor (Economic) Luci Ellis is due to deliver a speech titled "Watching the Invisibles" at the Freebairn Lecture in Public Policy in Melbourne.
Other economic data points today include the monthly Westpac consumer sentiment survey results at 10.30am and China’s monthly rolling year CPI and PPI at 11.30am AEST.
[VIDEO] Dow Jones eased by 0.05% after 6 days of gains. SPI futures pointing to a slightly better start locally after Aussie stocks hit 11.5 year highs on Tuesday. https://t.co/N0oy8O3Uet #ausbiz
— CommSec (@CommSec) June 11, 2019
READ: Afterpay's rocky few days vindicated by broker reports, shares up 3.6%
Well-known buy-now, pay-later ASX tech stock Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX:APT) is in a trading halt while it raises $300 million via a share placement.
The placement had a price range of $21.75 to $23.00 depending on demand and has been set at $23.00 due to strong demand.
If the placement was fully subscribed, which it clearly will be, three founders will part with 2.5 million shares, which will be allocated to two US cornerstone investors, Tiger Management and Woodson Capital.
A share purchase plan (SPP) will follow the placement and sell-down to raise an additional $30 million meaning the company will raise gross proceeds of $330 million.
The capital injection is to fund growth in the US, the UK launch and continued investment in Australia and New Zealand.