The Australia sharemarket snapped six-straight days of gains and had its worst day in more than two weeks, after the ASX 200 shed 22.2pts or 0.32 per cent, to 6975.9. The index managed to recoup some losses after the mining sector clawed back a 1.5 per cent decline and finished 0.35 per cent higher. The material sector’s recovery was supported by a rally in lithium miners, following a parliamentary decision to cut emission by 43 per cent by 2030. Elsewhere in the market, Tech shares climbed 2.2 per cent – their best day in around two weeks – and the Financials sector snapped six-straight days of gains, with the Big 4 banks all down.
In economic news, retail trade rose by 0.2 per cent in June to be up 12 per cent on the year. Over the June quarter, sales rose by 1.4 per cent in real (inflation-adjusted) terms, to be up 5.5 per cent on the year. The fastest growth in real spending was at cafes and restaurants, which rebounded by 16.3 per cent in FY22.
In company news, Pinnacle Investment Management (PNI) climbed 12.2 per cent and had its best day since June 2016 following the release of its annual results yesterday after market close. The fund manager posted a 14 per cent annual increase in its profits and declared a final dividend of 17.5 cents-per-share, which is 3 per cent higher than the final dividend declared last year. Its funds-under-management however, fell by 6 per cent over the year, to $83.7 billion. It also noted an increase in its average base fees, which helped its revenues climb 42 per cent over FY22.
Lynas Rare Earth (LYC) surged 7.6 per cent after it announced a $500 million (approximately) project to expand the production capacity at its Mt Weld mine. This was on the back of the rare earths producer noting ‘accelerating market demand for rare earth materials’. LYC says that the near $500 million investment will be ‘fully funded from cash flow’.
New Hope Corporation (NHC) released a trading update this morning, and said that the ‘further strengthening of the coal price’ has ‘partially offset’ impacts caused by ‘recent wet weather events’. NHC also revealed a 15 per cent interest in coal-producer Malabar Resources, which it purchased for $94.4 million. Shares of NHC climbed 0.9 per cent today and are up 95.1 per cent so far this year.
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ASX Limited (ASX) announced another delay to the go-live date of its new CHESS application – an application that makes its share trading services more efficient. The ASX says that it does not
expect the go-live date to be before late 2024. This comes after it identified that ‘more development is required than previously anticipated’. ASX shares fell 3.4 per cent today, their worst daily decline since early February.
2.8bn shares were traded, worth $6.4bn. 704 stocks rose, 617 fell & 412 finished unchanged.
In the US tonight, the ISM services gauge is released with factory orders and weekly mortgage finance. Moderna, MetLife and Baidu are also expected to post earnings results tonight.
Originally published by Divik Nigam – (Author), CommSec
