Australia's S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO)(ASX: XJO) and ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) indices finished lower on Thursday.
Here's a short recap of the Australian market:
- S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) down 0.18% to 5,910.80
- ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) down 0.11% to 6,003.00
- AUD/USD at US 76 cents
- Gold at US$1,326.90 an ounce
- Brent Oil at US$74.30 a barrel
The big news of the day is that Healthscope Ltd (ASX: HSO) has received a takeover offer from AustralianSuper and private equity. The share price shot up almost 15%.
Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) released its quarterly sales figures today, with Bunnings reporting yet another solid quarter of growth, the share price is up 0.63%.
The weak Coles growth has provided impetus for its competitors. The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price finished 1.44% higher and Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS) shares went up 4.44%.
The pharmacy businesses have had good days today with Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) up by 6.3% and Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API) rose by 5.7%.
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) was the worst performing bank today as it suffered from a downgrade by investment bank UBS.
The Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) share price dropped by a further 5.23% as investors worry poor trading conditions could continue.
Finally, Tegel Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: TGH) finished the day 37% higher after receiving a takeover offer.
Here are some of today's top stories:
