Markets Live: Healthscope jumps on re-bid

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If you are interested in today's national union rally, you can follow our live blog here.

The Electrical Trades Union appears happy with the turn out.

Woolworths supermarkets staff have overwhelmingly approved the company's new enterprise agreement, which restores full weekend penalty rates for the first time in decades. About 93 per cent voted in favour of the agreement in a ballot that closed on Monday night, with 62 per cent of the retail giant's 110,000 workforce participating in the ballot. The four-year agreement, negotiated over several years, is expected to significantly increase labour costs for the retail giant as unlike previous agreements it does not trade away penalty rates for higher base rates.

The agreement increases weekend and evening rates to the award minimum and reduces base rates to the award level. Casual loading will also increase from 20 per cent to 25 per cent. Existing workers who received the higher base rate as negotiated under Woolworths' 2012 agreement will have their pay preserved but new workers will be paid under the new deal.

Read the full story here.

The S&P/ASX 200 is down 40 points to 5864, an intra-day decline of 0.6 per cent.

Healthscope shares are up 21 per cent this morning to $2.16 on news of a second take-over attempt by major shareholder Australian Super. Flight Centre Travel's recovery continues, it has regain 7.2 per cent to $49.42 after yesterday's massive sell off. And Bellamy's is up 4.9 per cent today to $8.51.

Among the declines, Seven West Media is down 4.7 per cent to $0.855, but with no news out about the company.

Iluka's full year rutile production will be impacted by a peaceful unlawful strike at its mine in Sierra Leone. Operations have been halted and management has engaged with employees and union officials to "understand the rationale for the strike action". Mine managers have also spoken to government and asked Sierra Leone's Minister for Labour to meet with employees yesterday.

Rutile mining at the site was 93.4 thousand tonnes to September 30, and it could achieve a maximum of about 135 thousand tonnes "dependent on when the strike action is resolved".

"Iluka is focused on achieving an appropriate resolution to the strike action and will keep the market informed of progress toward that resolution." The company will release a quarterly review tomorrow and has schedule an investor call.

Sierra Rutile wet mining facility in Sierra Leone. Credit:

Listed real estate agency McGrath has flagged that its full-year result will be "in at least a breakeven position" on an EBITDA basis after tough conditions in the property market dragged it to a $1.9 million loss for the September quarter.

McGrath said auction clearance rates and the number of properties taken to auction were well below the previous year. An increase in stock levels combined with lower buyer activity meant houses were taking longer to sell and prices were down across the sector. In the 12 months to September 30, the number of settled sales in the broader Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane markets were down 18.5 per cent, 15.8 per cent and 11 per cent respectively. However, it said its franchise network in NSW and Queensland and its Sydney and Brisbane company-owned offices outperformed the market in terms of new listings.

It flagged a materially smaller loss in the December quarter and said it expected the second half of fiscal 2019 to be stronger than the first.

Read the full story here.

Our commenters who show a lot of interest in energy and coal might be interested to know AGL is conducting tours of its Loy Yang power station and coal mine site for investors and analysts this morning.

The company is webcasting presentations the here. If you are quick you might still get to see some of the site tour.

Loy Yang AGL power plant La Trobe Valley.Credit:Justin McManus

Brambles issued a profit warning this morning, although sales are up 3 per cent in the first quarter of the 2018-19 year leading to sales revenues of $US1.4 billion. Chief executive Graham Chipchase says "the business is, however, challenged by ongoing cost inflation across our major markets, including the US and Europe". Shares are down 0.4 per cent this morning to $10.37, slightly more than the S&P/ASX200 drop of 0.05 per cent.

"Given the exceptional cost pressures facing our business and the combination of higher compensations and lower costs in first half of 2017-18, underlying profit in the first half of 2018-19 is expected to be broadly in line with the prior corresponding period, on a constant-currency basis."

The company expects profits to improve in the second half of the current financial year thanks to price rises and more favourable cost comparisons in the second half of the previous financial year.

Graham Chipchase, CEO of Brambles Credit:Louie Douvis

Healthscope has received another unsolicited bid from BGH-AustralianSuper Consortium for a full takeover at $2.36 per share. The consortium tried "substantially the same" offer in April, but it was rejected in May. Shares last traded at $1.78.

This time Ellerston Capital, which owns 9.4 per cent of shares in Healthscope, has "indicated that it is supportive of the Board of Healthscope granting the BGH-AustralianSuper Consortium access to due diligence" and would vote in favour of the deal. Healthscope says it has not yet heard from Ellerston.

AustralianSuper already owns 14.5 per cent of Healthscope shares.

Commonwealth Bank has sold 80 per cent of its Indonesian life insurance business PT Commonwealth Life to Hong Kong-based insurer FWD Group for $426 million with CBA. It is the latest move by an Australian bank to rid itself of more wealth management assets.The sale had been well flagged by CBA, which said in March it had hired investment bankers to advise on a potential divestment.

The Indonesian deal will delver CBA a post-tax gain of $140 million, lifting its common equity tier 1 capital ratio by 7 basis points.

CBA's Indonesian bank, PT Bank Commonwealth, has also struck a 15-year distribution deal with FWD. This deal may lead to additional payments.

CBA has previously also announced plans to sell its Australian life insurance arm to AIA for $3.8 billion, a stake in a Chinese insurer, and its New Zealand insurance business Sovereign.Pending regulatory approval it also expects to sell it 37.5 per cent stake in Chinese business BoComm Life to Mitsui Sumitomo early next year.

While our stock market future are pointing to a drop of 12 points on opening, the Shanghai composite 300 futures are up 142.6 points, which would indicate a one-day rise of about 4.5 per cent.

Governor Yi Gang from The People's Bank of China gave an interview to Financial News explaining the bank's manoeuvres:

"First of all, recent stock market volatility is mainly driven by investors' expectations and sentiments. In fact, the fundamentals of the Chinese economy are sound. We have made progress in preventing and mitigating financial risks. The macro leverage ratio has been stable with strong endogenous potentials in the economy, and the driving force for sustaining stable economic growth has been strengthened. Overall, current stock market valuation has been at a relatively low level in history and in contrast to the country's stable and positive economic fundamental.

Secondly, some local governments have recently rolled out policies to support the liquidity of local businesses, which we actively encourage. Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China (PBC) has been exploring further targeted measures for easing business financing difficulties. First, we will advance the implementation of programs to support bond financing of private enterprises. By providing credit enhancement services for private enterprises with difficulties in bond issuing through credit risk mitigation, we will spur the overall recovery of financing for private enterprises. Second, we will promote the programs to support equity financing of private enterprises. By encouraging qualified private equity managers to set up private enterprise development funds, we will offer equity financing support to private enterprises with financial difficulties. Third, we will let macro prudential policies play an active role in structural adjustment through a combination of monetary policy instruments including central bank lending, rediscounting and medium-term lending facility (MLF) to support the commercial banks in expanding their loan issuance to private enterprises.

Thirdly, the PBC will continue to implement prudent and neutral monetary policy, prepare relevant policy tools in a forward-looking manner, maintain liquidity at an appropriate and stable level, promote healthy and stable market development, and foster a sound economic and financial environment."