The Australian sharemarket held its ground on Monday in cautious trading, with local investors still expecting minimal disruptions from an escalating war after President Vladimir Putin threatened to use a nuclear deterrent against Ukraine and the West tightens sanctions against Russia.
Shares in GrainCorp surged 5 per cent to $8.40 on expectations it will be able to export more volumes at very high prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that has curbed supplies from one of the world’s biggest exporting regions.The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade rose to $9.08 a bushel, after peaking at $9.35 a bushel in the session.
“And secondly, given the strong global prices, it could attract more wheat into its storage and port facilities, clipping the ticket on the way through.“Precipitations. Shares briefly dived to a nine-month low.after private equity group BGH Capital sweetened its bid for the reproductive technology and IVF health care company.The Virtus board has yet to evaluate the new proposal, which outdoes CapVest’s $650 million offer.
Rio Tinto jumped 3.2 per cent to $118.17 and BHP leapt 4.4 per cent to $46.66 but Fortescue Metals Group dropped 2.4 per cent to $18.15.Financials were mixed with NAB shares edging up 0.1 per cent to $28.94, CBA slipping 0.4 per cent to $93.46, ANZ falling 0.3 per cent to $26.01, while Westpac ended the day flat at $22.81.The day’s biggest laggard was tech company Life 360, which dropped 8.9 per cent to $5.2. Tyro Payments also came under pressure, shedding 5.5 per cent to $1.535.