ASX 200: Banks and energy stocks thrive while tech companies slump
'Banks and energy stocks were the top performers, tech companies slumped, the ASX200 finished the day up 0.7 per cent,' Mr Boyd said.
'It's been a big week for the markets.'
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Sky News AU
4 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Chevron Energy CEO Mike Wirth rules out additional investment in Australia as the nation struggles to compete globally
The boss of one of the world's largest energy companies has effectively ruled out any additional investment in Australia as the nation struggles to compete globally. Join to watch the full interview live at 11am AEST. Chevron Energy's chairman and CEO Mike Wirth made this stunning revelation on Sky News' Business Weekend as the company celebrates 70 years of operations in Australia. Chevron runs the Gorgon and Wheatstone projects in Western Australia which together deliver about half of the state's gas. Pressed on whether Chevron was looking to further invest in Australia beyond its current projects, Mr Wirth dumped cold water on the prospect. 'We're not looking at anything on the East Coast,' he said. 'In fact, our plans for the foreseeable future would not include expansion of our facilities in Western Australia either. 'We've got backfill fields that will develop over time but given the global competitive dynamics that we talked about earlier, there are likely other places where you're going to see more (gas) trains added before we would add them in Western Australia or on the East Coast.' He also weighed in on the company's struggles with the 'same-work-same-pay' legislation that means some workers at some of its sites could secure pay rises of up to $80,000 per year. 'We'll work with the unions, we'll with the government on these matters, but it is unsettling to investors when changes, significant changes, are made after massive investments are committed,' Mr Wirth said. The Chevron boss' revelation about investment in Australia comes after multiple Australian energy CEOs have lashed out over the various federal and state governments' attitude's towards gas. Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher publicly lambasted Victoria's attitude toward investment earlier this year. 'If I think about Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia – these are very supportive, very development-friendly jurisdictions. Victoria? North Korea. They're different altogether,' Mr Gallagher told an oil and gas conference in Brisbane. Just weeks later, the chief executive of Beach Energy CEO Brett Woods told Sky News that getting gas projects approved in Victoria had 'been a challenge'. 'Victoria still have had quite a negative policy in terms of what the role of gas is in the state,' Mr Woods said on Sky News' Business Weekend. 'I think the recognition now, with industry shutting down and foreclosures and other things, (is) that they need more gas. 'We're ready to help, we just want to get after our projects so we can move them forward.'
The Australian
a day ago
- The Australian
ASX hits fresh peak on Friday despite China's unexpected economic shift
Australia's sharemarket continued its strong gains, setting a new record high for the fifth straight session as a strong start to reporting season outweighed weakness out of China. The benchmark ASX200 continued its march higher during Friday afternoon's trading, closing up 64.80 points or 0.73 per cent to 8,938.60, while the broader All Ordinaries finished the day up 63 points or 0.69 per cent to 9,212.10. Australia's dollar also traded 0.13 per cent higher and at the time of writing was buying 65.03 US cents. In a broad market rally, nine of the 11 sectors traded higher with only consumer staples and technology finishing lower. Australia's sharemarket jumped during the afternoon's trading. Picture Newswire/ Gaye Gerard. The big four all gained, led by Westpac which jumped 2.14 per cent to $36.81 after announcing strong quarterly results on Thursday. ANZ also had a strong day up 1.78 per cent to $33.08, while NAB finished 0.80 per cent higher to $39.19 and Commonwealth Bank traded 0.57 per cent higher to $168.17. The materials sector helped lift the market with BHP shares up 1.08 per cent to $41.96, Rio Tinto jumped 1.41 per cent to $115.05 and Fortescue closed 1.28 per cent higher at $19.84. The rise in the materials sector came despite weakness out of China which could impact Australia's major resources sector. AMP chief economist and head of investment strategy Shane Oliver said Chinese economic data for July was soft. 'Retail sales, industrial production and investment all rose less than expected and residential property investment and sales are continuing to fall as are home prices,' Dr Oliver said. 'Unemployment rose slightly although this possibly due to grad and typhoon season.' The market ignored pressures from China, focusing on reporting season which so far has been better than expected. 'Results have been good with more upside than downside surprises, although most results have been in line, and a big increase in the number of companies reporting profits or dividends up on a year ago than in the December half reporting season,' Dr Oliver said. 'Just bear in mind though that it was much like this at the start of the last reporting season as there is a tendency for companies with good results to report early so results may soften over the next couple of weeks.' Nine of the 11 sectors gained. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw He also said consensus earnings expectations are for overall business profits to fall 1.7 per cent. If the results show this, it would be the third year in a row corporate earnings shrunk. In company news, shares in hearing implant maker Cochlear gained 0.99 per cent to $309.03 after announcing a 1 per cent increase in underlying net profits to $392m, while revenue was up 4 per cent. Cochlear said it aimed to help more than 60,000 people to hear using one of its devices over the next year, up from 53,000 in the last financial year. Shares in Amcor sank 9.70 per cent to $13.60 after announcing its fourth-quarter results showing weakness out of its North American businesses. Baby Bunting soared 40.54 to $2.60 on its latest earnings with the business aiming to double its store network. According to its results until June 29 sales grew by 4.7 per cent to $521.9m, while margins increased and underlying net profit under tax soared 228 per cent to $12.1m. Read related topics: ASXChina Ties
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Fresh ASX record high approaches 9000 milestone; Ampol surges on $1.1b deal; Baby Bunting soars
Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day. The numbers The Australian sharemarket hit a fresh record high every day this week and is closing in on the 9000 milestone, with Friday's session carried by energy, banking, and mining giants. The S&P/ASX 200 gained 64.8 points, or 0.7 per cent, to close at 8938.6, with each day this week finishing higher than the last. Friday's gains came despite a middling session on Wall Street driven by a disappointing report that said US inflation at the wholesale level was worse last month than economists expected. The lifters Financials were one of the best-performing sectors of the day, climbing nearly 1.1 per cent. The big banks, which were mixed earlier in the day, all finished higher: Westpac gained 2.1 per cent, ANZ Bank rose 1.8 per cent, NAB added 0.8 per cent and even the Commonwealth Bank rose 0.6 per cent. Mining was another outperforming sector, finishing 1.1 per cent higher. Rio Tinto gained 1.4 per cent and Fortescue rose 1.3 per cent, while BHP lifted 1.1 per cent. Loading Energy stocks also rose (1.1 per cent). Santos added 1.8 per cent and Woodside added 0.2 per cent. Petrol and diesel supplier Ampol jumped 7.7 per cent after announcing a major expansion plan with the acquisition of British fuel giant EG Group's Australian petrol station network. If the $1.1 billion deal gains regulatory approval, Ampol, formerly known as Caltex Australia, would add EG's 500 fuel sites to its business, enabling it to fast-track the roll-out unstaffed, self-service petrol stations under its U-GO brand.
