Today, the All Ordinaries (ASX: XAO) was trading 0.44% higher, with shares of Cimic Group Ltd (ASX:CIM), Altium Limited (ASX:ALU) and Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX:LOV) moving the Australian share market.
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Important Investor News At Lunchtime
1. Cimic Group shares jump on report
Cimic Group was formerly called Leighton Holdings. The company changed its name shortly after some bribery scandals emerged in the news and it was acquired by its majority shareholder, Spanish firm Grupo ACS. Cimic is now a major international construction and mining contractor with brands like UGL, CPB Contractors, Thiess, Broad and Sedgman under its banner.
As reported by Rask Media, Cimic Group released its annual report revealing to investors the extent of the impact of its recent BICC divestment to its financial accounts. Cimic shares were trading 7% higher as a result, probably due to management stating that there is more than $150 billion of construction work up for grabs in its key markets in 2020, and much more in 2021 and beyond.
2. Altium Limited follows US leaders
Altium is an Australian multinational software business that was founded in 1985. It now has offices globally in places like San Diego, New York, Boston, Munich, Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney. Its software focuses on electronics design systems for 3D PCB design and embedded system development. Its services include Altium Designer, Altium Vault, CircuitStudio, CircuitMaker, TASKING and Octopart.
Altium was among local technology companies leading the market higher today, rising 2.5%. Although no new material news was released by the company, it could just be that overnight gains on US markets helped to buoy local technology companies, which have been quite volatile in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
3. Lovisa Holdings gains is another’s pains
Lovisa is a fast-fashion jewellery retailer that was founded in 2010 by managing director Shane Fallscheer in partnership with private investment group BB Retail Capital (BBRC). Since then, the company has quickly grown to over 350 stores across Australia, South Africa, the UK and throughout the world.
Shares in the Australian fast retail store owner rose 8.8% today to be the largest percentage gainer in the All Ords index. Although no material news was released by Lovisa, investors might be excited by the news that one of its key competitors, Colette, has filed for administration.
Despite boasting some 140 stores in Australia and New Zealand, Colette appears to have been hurt by the weak retail climate. Fellow businesses such as Harris Scarfe, Bardot and Jeanswest have also decided to close shop in recent months. The administrator, Deloitte, is planning to continue trading until it can either sell or recapitalise the Colette business.
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