Why there's so much at stake for NAB and its CEO Andrew Irvine
The share price gains posted by NAB and Australia's other banks in recent times have been so stunning – NAB's stock has risen 54 per cent in the past two years, and Commonwealth Bank has dragged the ASX 200 bank index up almost 20 per cent in the past 12 months – that you can almost forget just how much change we've had at the top.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
3 hours ago
- Perth Now
ASX jumps as Trump talks trade deals
Australia's sharemarket jumped in line with the Asian markets, after US President Donald Trump announced a 'massive deal' with Japan. The benchmark ASX 200 gained 60 points or 0.69 per cent to finish trading on Wednesday at 8,737.20, while the broader All Ordinaries climbed 59.90 points or 0.67 per cent to close at 9,001.49. Australia's dollar rose 0.13 per cent and at the time of writing was buying 65.62 US cents. In an agreement between the US and Japan, the US will impose a 15 per cent levy on Japanese imports, down from 25 per cent. Japan in return will invest $US550bn into the United States. Asian markets jumped on the US-Japan trade deal. NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers Credit: News Corp Australia Stocks on Japan's Nikkei index rallied and the yen leapt on the news the country was able to sort a trade deal with Mr Trump, including on the critical car manufacturing sector. Last year, cars shipped to the US were around 28 per cent of Japan's 21.3 trillion yen of total exports to the world's largest economy. Global X senior investment strategist Billy Leung said Japanese equities hit a record high on Wednesday on the back of the announcement. 'This isn't just about a one-day rally. Japan is the world's largest robot manufacturing country and its role in global tech supply chains especially in high-precision manufacturing and automation makes it a key beneficiary of both tariff clarity and the broader reconfiguration of US-aligned production,' he said Australia's sharemarket followed with 10 of the 11 sectors gaining, led by the miners, banks and energy sector. The big three iron ore miners all finished in the green, with BHP up 0.9 per cent to $41.85, Rio Tinto gaining 1 per cent to $119.47 and Fortescue gaining 2.3 per cent to $18.21. Woodside Energy shares were up 1.45 per cent to $25.21, Yancoal Australia jumped 2.81 per cent to $6.58 and Whitehaven Coal soared 6.53 per cent to $7.18. On an overall strong day for the financial sector, three of the four major banks gained during Wednesday's trading. Ten of the 11 sectors on the ASX finished in the green. NewsWire / Jeremy Piper Credit: News Corp Australia Commonwealth Bank shares finished 0.51 per cent higher trading at $173.30, Westpac shares gained 1.41 per cent to $33.11 and ANZ soared 2.52 per cent to $30.57. NAB slipped 0.05 per cent to $37.20. In company news, shares in Telix Pharmaceuticals plunged 15.13 per cent to $21.32 after it told the market it had received a subpoena from the US Securities and Exchange Commission for various documents primarily related to the company's disclosure regarding its prostate cancer therapy. Shares in Australia's top fuel retailer Ampol Limited rallied 3.27 per cent to $27.77 despite telling the market it forecasts weaker half yearly earnings on the back of sea-freight conditions impacting its supply chains. Iluka Resources jumped 4.05 per cent to $5.39 after the global critical minerals business after telling the market it achieved its full-year production guidance for Zircon by June 30.
West Australian
3 hours ago
- West Australian
Mining tipped to again push top-tier profits lower as reporting season kicks off
Australia's corporate sector is facing a 'decisive test' from an imminent reporting season that will likely confirm a second consecutive year of weaker profit growth and uncertain dividends. Analysts are tipping ASX200 annual company profits to be released over the next five weeks will show an average reduction of up to nearly 2 per cent off the back of another weak year for big miners and a sluggish national economy. They're warning that investors will want to see better if the share market is to push deeper into record territory. UBS said while stocks had rallied hard since April, 'the local equity market story hasn't necessarily improved'. 'The economy is slowing, rate cuts have thus far been relatively un-impactful, and earnings are declining,' it said. 'The downbeat tones we expect to come from August results may not be enough to halt the markets 'melt-up' . . . but they should cause it to pause.' Reporting season for the majors kicks off next week, with Rio Tinto and lithium miner PLS on Wednesday before hitting top gear in the last two weeks of August and a penultimate day on August 28, packed with Mineral Resources, Wesfarmers, IGO, Qantas, South32 and Sandfire Resources. Analysts said investor focus was now switching from US President Donald Trump's tariffs to companies' ability to defy domestic economic conditions that have not received the expected boost from interest rate cuts. The reporting season 'arrives as the decisive test for corporate Australia's earnings resilience, with company-specific fundamentals now taking precedence over macro considerations', said Morgans, which has forecast a 1.2 per cent fall in ASX200 profits. 'While earnings and share prices have shown remarkable resilience despite global trade uncertainty since the February reporting period, the focus shifts to companies' ability to maintain margins and drive growth amid subdued trading conditions.' UBS, which is tipping a 1.7 per cent drop in profit for the 2025 financial year after the previous year's 5.4 per cent decline, expressed concern that rate cuts have lost their power to stimulate economic growth, making it more difficult for companies. Mining and energy companies are seen as the biggest drag on earnings, with their profits expected to be off another 17 per cent for the year on weaker commodity prices and persistent concerns about China's economy. Outside of resources, 'things (are) look less bad, but still relatively lacklustre', with the exception of tech (forecast 26.1 per cent rise), communication services (27.6 per cent), banks (7.8 per cent), healthcare and selected industrial companies, UBS said. Morgans warned that final dividends may be smaller than some investors expect, after surprisingly good returns for the 2024 financial year as payout ratios recovered towards their 10-year average of about 72 per cent or 73 per cent. 'Payout expectations have eased through 2025, and we moderate dividend expectations slightly as boards note sluggish earnings growth and a nod toward conservative capital management,' it said. UBS forecasts profits to return to growth this financial year, tipping a 5.3 per cent rise across the ASX200. Morgans expects growth of 5.4 per cent for 2025-26, but cautions expectations are already slipping after forecast growth of 8 per cent in just April.
Sky News AU
3 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Mining stocks spur strong performance for ASX 200 on Wednesday
Sky News Business Reporter Edward Boyd says the multi-day rally of mining stocks 'spurred' the ASX 200 higher for the past couple of days. 'Mining and energy stocks – they were up about 1 per cent apiece and the banks bounced back after a couple of heavy days of selling,' Mr Boyd said. 'The utilities sector and consumer staples companies dropped.' The ASX 200 finished the day up 0.7 per cent.
