AU Morning Wrap: ASX Rises; Australian Vintage Soars 17.5%

Wall Street blazed to another rally on Friday to close a winning week, month and first half of the year after reports suggested pressure on inflation may be easing.

An exception was Ramelius Resources. The junior gold miner dropped 2.2 per cent after it was reported that the gold miner made an off-market offer to acquire Musgrave Minerals.

Downer EDI shares added 1.1 per cent after it announced that its sealed a $540 million contract to maintain roads for Hamilton City Council in New Zealand.

United Malt surged 9.1 per cent after it reached an agreement with France's Malteries Soufflet, with the latter to buy the company at $5 a share.

Winemaker Australian Vintage soared 17.5 per cent following news that it hired E&P to run a strategic review of its $100 million business as it battles tough times in the wine market.

It's time for a tipple for the deal makers at E&P.

While it is early days, sources said the review would seek to identify ways the wine group could unlock value for shareholders, including participation in industry consolidation and rationalisation.

Musgrave's board has unanimously recommended its shareholders accept the offer from Ramelius.

The contract is for an initial five-year term with provisions for extensions of three years and two years.

A recent UBS presentation around the ASX healthcare sector. The healthcare sector is traditionally one of the most popular (and crowded) trades when investors are concerned by the onset of a recession. This flight to safety and quality also pushes up forward P/E valuations in a sector that already doesn't come cheap at the best of times.

For most of the names in the space, UBS rates them a BUY. These include:

Trading Ex-div: None