Bank of Queensland hits over 2-year high as Citi, MS optimistic after strong results
April 17 (Reuters) - Shares of Bank of Queensland (BOQ) (BOQ.AX), opens new tab surged to a more than two-year high on Thursday, as analysts at Citi and Morgan Stanley bet on the stock after the lender's strong half-year results.
The Australian bank's shares rose as much as 4.5% to A$7.170, hitting their highest level since February 15, 2023, and were last up about 3.4%. The stock is on track to log its third consecutive session of gains, if the trend holds.
The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue
Report This Ad
The bank reported a 13% rise in its half-year statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) on Wednesday, buoyed by improved margins, lower costs and subdued credit losses.
Cash earnings were up 6% during the reported period, reaching A$183 million ($116.39 million), about 10-11% ahead of Citi's estimates.
Analysts at Citi said the growth in earnings was attributable to BOQ's strong management of the balance sheet to run down mortgages, liquid assets and wholesale funding.
They added that the bank pivoting towards high-margin lending business protected it from asset and liability side pressures.
Citi expects these benefits to persist into the second half of the year.
However, despite being largely upbeat on the stock, Citi flagged potential headwinds from interest rates and competition going ahead.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley, too, were upbeat on BOQ's ahead-of-consensus half-year results, and said a low loan loss boosted earnings.
The bank reported a net interest margin of 1.57%, which was flat year on year.
Morgan Stanley said the margin was broadly in line with expectations, and was supported by lending and deposit mix benefits.
($1 = 1.5723 Australian dollars)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
This is why you should never trust a man with three names
Robinson's 'big lie' was to convince his customers that some of the world's finest teas could be grown, not in Sri Lanka or China, but here in Scotland. Last week Robinson – also known as Thomas O'Brien and Tam O'Braan – was convicted of fraud, after a court heard he imported sacks of bog-standard commercial tea from abroad, and passed it off as exclusive, specialist varieties, grown on his 'plantations' in Perthshire and Dumfries and Galloway. Never trust a man with three names. Read More Among his victims, duped out of almost £600,000, were some of the UK's top hotels and exclusive retailers like Fortnum and Mason. In a world where avoiding being fleeced by ever more audacious and resourceful online scammers has become a daily challenge, nothing is any longer safe or sacred – not even the good old British cuppa. The media is awash with stories of people being left high-and-dry after going along with a plausible story, or an inviting opportunity, only to learn when it is too late that they have been cleaned-out by shadowy and amoral swindlers. Some of the most heart-wrenching examples are of people who lost their pensions or life savings, after being smooth-talked into investing in dubious schemes. Banks are notoriously unsympathetic to people who have willingly handed over their funds to people they have only just met, only to learn that they are not what they seemed. And yet, as we have seen, some of the most suggestible marks for fraudsters and scammers are not pensioners, but large commercial enterprises who really should know better. Among the most watched shows currently streaming is the Netflix documentary The Search for Instagram's Worst Con Artist and the new Apple series, Cider Vinegar. Both tell the story of the disgraced Australian wellness influencer, Belle Gibson, who built a huge online following, and made a fortune, by falsely claiming to have cured her brain cancer through alternative therapies. Gibson rose to fame in 2013 by documenting her fabricated cancer battle on Instagram, gaining more than 200,000 followers. She later launched The Whole Pantry, a wellness app and cookbook, which earned her more than $400,000 AUD. Arguably more shocking than her deception was the way in which large companies lined up to associate themselves with her and her story, seemingly without doing even a modicum of due diligence. Taken in by her tale of courage and survival against-the-odds, Penguin offered her a lucrative book deal, while Apple featured her app on its new watch. Both will have eyed the potential profits to be made in the emerging success of the wellness industry. However, a 2023 study found that many influencers promote unscientific or unrealistic health claims. Speaking to any oncologist worth their salt would have raised alarm bells at Apple and Penguin, given the planet-sized holes in Gibson's story. The hotels and shops where Robinson's teas were sold were doubtless seduced by his claims to have developed a "special biodegradable polymer" that allowed his plants – which had names like White Dalreoch, Scottish Antlers and Highland Green - to grow in half the usual time in the inclement Scottish climate. The court was told it looked like a black bin liner. Prosecutor Joanne Ritchie said: 'When you look at what he was actually doing, the suggestion that this was genuine Scottish tea, or these were Scottish-grown plants, is almost laughable.' Whether it's a sharp-talking fraudster, an eye-catching ad on social media, or a plausible politician promising simple solutions to complicated problems, we seem willing to drop our defences at the first hint of a likely story. The notion that the leaves in your teapot were teased into existence on the drizzly hills of a verdant Perthshire hillside was enough to convince customers to shell-out a hefty premium, even though the liquid didn't taste any different to a cup of Typhoo. Robinson even boasted that tea he had supplied to London's Dorchester Hotel was "the Queen's favourite". Kerching. It's significant that he wasn't rumbled by anyone who had tasted his tea, but rather by trading standards officials who became suspicious when he couldn't produce any import documents. A growing source of fraud is social media adverts posted by companies that don't exist, or which deliver products that are wildly different from what is featured online. One Scottish couple was promised a hot tub for the bargain price of £20, but instead received an inflatable children's rubber ring. Such scams prey on the assumption that most people will be too embarrassed to admit they genuinely believed they would receive a hot tub for such a modest amount, and that they will write-off the loss. Such a lack of critical application extends well beyond online adverts. The phenomenal rise of Reform UK as the country's dominant political force, less than a year after Labour's landslide general election victory, says much about the willingness of voters to entertain the blandishments of false prophets. It should come as no surprise that Donald Trump failed to follow through on his range of promises – to end the Ukraine War, solve the Israeli Palestinian conflict, and bring down the price of eggs – all on the first day of his presidency. And yet, his approval ratings have plummeted, as a result. In our collective desire to improve our lives, we have apparently lost sight of an important maxim, that if a story sounds too good to be true, then it probably isn't . Anyone who took the time to read the tea leaves could have reasoned that Robinson's cha empire was a figment of his creative imagination, and you can put the kettle on for that. Carlos Alba is a journalist, author, and PR consultant at Carlos Alba Media. His latest novel, There's a Problem with Dad, explores the issue of undiagnosed autism among older people
Reuters
10 hours ago
- Reuters
Rupee back on the ropes after US yields spike post jobs data
MUMBAI, June 9 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is set to come under renewed stress on Monday after the U.S. economy added slightly more number of jobs than was expected, prompting a rise in U.S. Treasury yields and bringing relief to the dollar. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated a open in the 85.74-85.78 range, versus the close of 85.6250 in the previous session. The Indian currency had found respite on Friday after the Reserve Bank of India delivered a larger-than-expected rate cut while the signalling limited room for more reductions. The policy surprise lifted domestic equities and lent support to the rupee. "The opening today is probably just a retracement of Friday's move," a currency trader at a Mumbai-based bank said. "With the U.S. jobs data broadly positive for the dollar, the rupee is simply coming back under pressure." The trader is betting on a 85.60-86.00 range for the week with bias more-or-less neutral. Employers added 139,000 jobs last month, above estimates for an increase of 130,000. Average hourly earnings increased 0.4% in May against a rise of 0.3%. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2%. Federal Reserve rate cut expectations were scaled back post the data, Morgan Stanley said in its daily commentary. The market-implied rate for the December Fed meeting was re-priced 9 basis points higher, implying just 42 bps of rate cuts through 2025, it said, adding that the probability of a rate cut in July fell to 12% from 25%. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed nearly twelve bps on Friday and the dollar index rose 0.5%. The key U.S. jobs report followed a string of mostly weak data points that had raised concerns about the economic outlook. With that risk now tempered to an extent, attention turns to the pivotal U.S.-China trade talks scheduled to take place in London later in the day. KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 85.84; onshore one-month forward premium at 8.75 paise ** Dollar index at 98.99 ** Brent crude futures down 0.1% at $66.4 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 4.49% ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors bought a net $5.8 million worth of Indian shares on Jun. 5 ** NSDL data shows foreign investors sold a net $9.3 million worth of Indian bonds on Jun. 5
Reuters
12 hours ago
- Reuters
Indian rupee to gauge portfolio flows, diversion in bond yields to persist
MUMBAI, June 9 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee will gauge portfolio flows and developments related to U.S. trade policies this week, while bond yields are likely to continue their diversion, traders said. The rupee rose to 85.6250 per dollar on Friday and stocks also gained after the Reserve Bank of India delivered an outsized rate cut to support economic growth. Traders reckon that the growth-supportive measures from the central bank could be a boost for Indian equities and encourage foreign portfolio inflows, helping the local currency. A pick-up in inflows would turn the bias on the rupee for a rise above 85, a trader at a state-run bank said. Meanwhile, jobs data released on Friday in the U.S. surprised slightly to the upside, helping lift the dollar alongside optimism over easing trade tensions following news that U.S. and Chinese officials would meet for trade talks this week. The dollar index rose nearly 0.5% on Friday but was slightly down week-on-week. "Against the weaker USD backdrop, we believe INR likely stands to gain," Citi said in a note, adding that the Reserve Bank of India's actions on Friday should help reinvigorate portfolio inflows. "We continue to believe that USD/INR can come off towards 85 in the next few weeks followed by 83 in the next few months." Meanwhile, India's 10-year benchmark 6.33% 2035 bond yield ended little changed on a weekly basis at 6.2373%. Traders expect the yield to move in the range of 6.18% to 6.28% this week. The yield on the five-year liquid 6.75% 2029 bond yield plunged six basis points last week to end at 5.8150%. Shorter-duration bond yields declined as the RBI slashed repo rate by a larger-than-expected 50 bps, and also announced a cut in banks' cash reserve ratio in four tranches from September to November, which will release 2.5 trillion rupees ($29.2 billion) into the banking system. However, the RBI changed its policy stance to "neutral" from "accommodative", limiting the scope for future rate cuts. "After having cut the policy rate by 100 bps in quick succession since February 2025, the monetary policy committee also felt that under the present circumstances, monetary policy is now left with very limited space to support growth," RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said. The RBI will keep its key interest rate on hold at 5.50% until at least the end of this fiscal year to support slowing urban household consumption, a snap Reuters poll of economists found. "Strong demand from domestic participants will be crucial in anchoring yields lower. We expect demand to remain sticky at the longer end, especially from life insurance and pension funds," Barclays said. KEY EVENTS: ** India May consumer price inflation - June 12, Thursday (4:00 p.m. IST) (Reuters poll: 3.00%) U.S. ** U.S. consumer price inflation - June 11, Wednesday (6:00 p.m. IST) (Reuters poll: 2.5%) ** Initial weekly jobless claims week to June 2 - June 12, Thursday (6:00 p.m. IST) ** May PPI machine manufacturing - June 12, Thursday (6:00 p.m. IST) ** June U Mich sentiment prelim - June 13, Friday (7:30 p.m. IST)
