The S&P/ASX200 is up 81.60 points or 1.14% to 7,267.10 in morning trading, despite crossing below its 125-day moving average.
The index has lost 1.59% for the last five days, but sits 4.79% below its 52-week high.
The top-performing stocks in this index at the time of writing were Flight Centre Travel Group Limited up 7.51% and Webjet Limited up 5.10%. This isn’t surprising as the broader travel sector looks to be doing a roaring trade today.
Qantas is also up 3% to $5.87 and Corporate Travel shares soared 3.4% to $25.19.
With international borders expected to open before the end of the year, businesses within this sector could see trade roar back to life.
After close to two years being landlocked, it is expected both leisure and business travellers will be back on planes sooner rather than later.
In other interesting news to start the week …
- Lite n Easy has become the latest company to mandate the vaccine for staff.
The low-calorie meal delivery service will require all 2,000 staff to get the jab.
"Tens of thousands of Australians, including vulnerable aged care and NDIS recipients, rely on our daily delivery service," Lite n' Easy chief executive Dennis Stark said.
"If a worker is not vaccinated or does not have a medical contraindication form they will not be able to work on site at Lite n' Easy," said Stark.
Lite n Easy is a $210 million operation and joins Qantas, Telstra and SPC in requiring all of its 2,000 staff and contractors to get the jab.
- Australian Unity Office Fund is in talks to merge with the Australian Unity Diversity Property Fund (DPF), to create an entity with $1.2 billion of real estate.
The merger is expected to improve Australian Unity’s lagging share price.
Shareholders will vote on the merger on December 10.
- NSW’s COVID numbers may be coming down, but so too are its top parliamentarians.
Today, Deputy Premier John Barilaro follows Gladys Berejiklian out the door as she faces the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) investigation into her conduct and relationship with ex-MP Daryl Maguire.
"As we emerge from lockdown, we must embrace this time as a new beginning for our state, and welcome the opportunity it presents for a refresh," Barilaro said.
"I have decided now is the right time for me to hand the reins over to new leadership, and resign as Deputy Premier of NSW.
"We've had some tough days - throughout the worst drought in regional NSW in recorded history, then the bushfires, floods, the mice plague, and then the global pandemic of COVID hitting not only the regions, but our state, the nation and the globe," he said.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet is expected to be sworn in as leader of the party and Premier of NSW in the next 24 hours.
- Boral investors could be rejoicing as the Kerry Stokes controlled company flags a $3 billion capital return to shareholders.
The announcement came after the company announced the sale of its North American building products business for $US2.15 billion ($2.95BN).
“We have now reached an important milestone in re-positioning Boral as a focused construction materials company in Australia. We have enviable strategic assets in Australia and a strong competitive advantage upon which to build,” Boral chief executive Zlatko Todorcevski said.
On the small cap front
Castillo Copper Ltd (LSE:CCZ, FRA:7OR, ASX:CCZ) is up 5.88% having confirmed the presence of large occurrences of surface lithium following preliminary due diligence across the Picasso Lithium Project in Western Australia's south.
Pantoro Ltd (ASX:PNR) is up 2.44% after receiving further wide and high-grade results from the Scotia Deeps drilling program at Norseman Gold Project in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.
Latitude Consolidated Ltd (ASX:LCD) is up 2.27% after beginning its Phase 2 exploration program at the flagship Murchison Gold Project in Western Australia.
Other small caps of note:
- AIS +4.84%
- AQX +10%
- AME +3.75%
- ARR +5.26%
- AZY +2.17%
- AON +2.13%
- ARU +2.33%
- AGC +4%
- BRU +3.13%
- CAV +16.67%
- CDX +9.68%
- CCZ +7.35%
- CML +5.88%
- CRL +3.7%
- DNK +3.57%
- EPM +3.7%
- EMP +6.25%
- EMN +2.20%
- EUR 4.76%
- FAR +4.64%
- GTR +3.7%
- G1A +5%
- GCY +2.7%
- GEV +5.06%
- HHR +8.7%
- JRL +2.27%
- KKO +3.19%
- LOT +5.10%
- MZZ +2.82%
- MM8 +6.98%
- NC6 +2.27%
- OBM +7.53%
- PAB +4.88%
- PEN +2.22%
- PEC +4.55%
- POS +2.17%
- RED +4.76%
- RVR +3.03%
- SVL +5.26%
- SHP +3.53%
- SVM +4%
- STM +4.35%
- SRN +3.85%
- TEG +2.5%
- VAL +6.25%
- WAK +2.5%