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Aussie shares are losing ground for the sixth straight day, continuing to be held back by the banks, miners and energy stocks. The ASX 200 is down by almost 0.2 per cent and has shrugged off small gains from US markets. Concerns of stalling US-China trade talks remain and there is some uncertainty if President Trump’s scheduled meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un will go ahead on June 12.
Only approximately a third of companies on the Australian sharemarket are lifting at lunch but the banks, energy and mining companies are doing the most damage.
The big four financials are down by as much as 1.2 per cent, Santos (STO) is slipping a day after turning down a $14.5bn takeover bid and Rio Tinto (RIO) is dropping in the mining space a day after saying it is considering selling a copper and gold mine in Indonesia.
Aristocrat Leisure (ALL) is up 6 per cent after the poker machine game maker handed down a 3 per cent lift in first half profit to $256.5m driven by its US, Australian and New Zealand operations. Stripping out one-offs earnings rose by a better than expected 32.5 per cent to $361.5m. Together with reaffirmed expectations of double digit profit growth this year, ALL shares are lifting strongly.
A2 Milk (A2M) is up 5 per cent in the absence of company news. The infant formula maker is still down by ~14 per cent in May after warning of lower than hoped sales growth over the year.
Origin Energy (ORG) is edging higher after agreeing to sell its metering business, Acumen for $267m. The energy retailer expects the deal to be completed by 30 June and frees up some cash.
At Westfield’s (WFD) final Annual General Meeting, shareholders have backed the $32bn sale of the shopping mall owner to Europe’s largest property group, UnibailRodamco. In coming weeks (subject to regulatory/court approval) WFD will no longer be listed on the ASX.
1.2bn shares have changed hands so far today, worth $2.1bn. 474 stocks are up, 475 down and 406 are unchanged. 
Published by CommSec