After edging lower at the open, the Australian share market had a sea-saw session which ended flat. Most of the sectors ended in the red. Information technology led the day, capping 2.6 per cent in gains. The S&P/ASX200 index: At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.1 points higher to finish at 6,715. Over the week, the market has lost 43 points or 0.6 per cent. Futures markets : Dow futures are suggesting a fall of 136 points. S&P 500 futures are eyeing a dip of 15 points. The Nasdaq futures are eyeing a fall of 30 points. And the ASX200 futures are eyeing a flat start on Monday morning. Economic news: The Australian Bureau of Statistics says the total value of new loan commitments for housing reached a record high in November 2020. The figure rose 5.6 per cent to $24 billion during the month. Broker moves: Credit Suisse rates IOOF Holdings (ASX:IFL) as an outperform, with a price target of $5.00. The broker believes confidence is returning to the sector after the disruption caused by the Royal Commission. IOOF is Credit Suisse’s top pick amongst its peers. It does however harbour concerns over a recovery in flows, revenue margin pressure and attrition, but considers these are more than factored into the share price. Shares in IOOF Holdings (ASX:IFL) closed 0.5 per cent higher at $3.70. Company news : Shares in fintech, Tyro Payments (ASX:TYR) plummeted today after Viceroy Research released a scathing report on the company’s recent connectivity issue with respect to some of its EFTPOS terminals. The activist short selling research group claims the outage is far worse than the company is admitting. It warns that the impact of the issue is "unquantifiable" and that it expects Tyro’s shares “to decline significantly in this quarter”. It alleges that over 50 per cent of Tyro’s terminals across Australia are offline. Viceroy says the company “has no disaster recovery plan and has left businesses, including medical facilities, without any means to collect p...
