LA Private

Afternoon update: ASX up 0.17% as energy outperforms

The S&P/ASX 200 is trading 0.17 per cent higher at 7,061.10.

Futures

The SPI futures are up 16 points.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Energy, up 1.05 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Utilities, down 0.62 per cent.

The best-performing large cap is ALS (ASX:ALQ), trading 2.64 per cent higher at $12.46. It is followed by shares in Steadfast Group (ASX:SDF) and Allkem (ASX:AKE).

The worst-performing large cap is Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY), trading 4.5 per cent lower at $5.52. It is followed by shares in Atlas Arteria (ASX:ALX) and Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST).

Asian markets

Japan’s Nikkei has lost 0.07 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 0.91 per cent.
China’s Shanghai Composite has gained 0.08 per cent.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,985.80 an ounce.
Light crude is trading $0.56 higher at US$76.45 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.37 US cents.