logo
ASX 200 climbs to second-highest close as banks halt the run

ASX 200 climbs to second-highest close as banks halt the run

News.com.au2 days ago
A slump in the big four banks offset strong gains in the mining sector as the Australian market was unable to follow strong gains out of Wall Street.
The ASX 200 index gained 9 points or 0.10 per cent to 8,677.20 at the end of Tuesday's trading, for its second highest close of all time, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 15.30 points or 0.17 per cent to 8,941.50.
Australia's dollar slipped 0.17 per cent and is now buying 65.14 US cents.
On a mixed day of trading, six sectors finished in the green while a further five fell.
Materials and Healthcare led the way up 2.37 and 2.08 per cent respectively.
BHP gained 2.60 per cent to $41.51, Rio Tinto soared 3.37 per cent to $118.32 and Fortescue jumped 3.25 per cent to $17.81 on higher iron ore prices.
Commonwealth Bank mining and energy commodities director Vivek Dhar said the iron ore price was back to its highest point since April 2 on the back of the latest move out of China.
'Over the weekend, the launch of the RMB 1.2 trillion hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsanpo river in Tibet also boosted demand expectations,' he wrote in an economic note.
'However, given policymakers are yet to announce any substantial property stimulus package, and China's economy has proven resilient so far this year, demand alone is unlikely to be the reason that iron ore prices have tracked back above $US100/t.'
Offsetting the strong gains in the mining sector was another poor day for the big four banks.
CBA slumped a further 3.06 per cent to $172.42, NAB dragged 2.69 per cent to $37.22, Westpac fell 1.27 per cent to $32.65 and ANZ slipped 0.77 per cent to $29.82.
The substantial selling in the big banks this week has led to the ASX200 Financial sector falling 5.3 per cent below the record high of 9,676 reached in late June putting it on track for its lowest daily close in seven weeks.
The fall on the local market comes despite shares in the US reaching another record high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 18.66 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 44,323.53, while the broader S & P 500 gained 8.89 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 6,305.68 and the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 78.52 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 20,974.18.
This was another record high for both the S & P 500 and Nasdaq.
Capital.com senior financial market analyst Kyle Rodda said Wall Street kicked off the week at a record high despite heightened trade tensions and looming tech earnings.
'Investors all but shrugged off reports that the European Union is preparing a suite of retaliatory tariffs on the United States should negotiations break down and tariffs get lifted to the levels that the US has threatened the EU with,' he wrote in an economic note.
In company news, Insignia Financial has entered into a scheme implementation deed which will see CC Capital acquire all the businesses shares.
Insignia shares will be sold at $4.80 per share, offering a 56.9 per cent premium on its $3.06 price on December 11 2024 when the process of taking over the business began.
Bedmakers Technology group told the market it achieved record profitability and positive cash flow. In its latest statement, the company said revenue increased $22.6m and gross margins expanded by 71.5 per cent for an adjusted EBITDA of $3.2m.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Aussie dollar hits eight-month high as shares slide; Macquarie down, Fortescue jumps
Aussie dollar hits eight-month high as shares slide; Macquarie down, Fortescue jumps

Sydney Morning Herald

time4 hours ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

Aussie dollar hits eight-month high as shares slide; Macquarie down, Fortescue jumps

The heavyweight miners were mixed, with BHP down 0.6 per cent, South32 down 0.6 per cent, but Rio Tinto up 0.3 per cent. Santos slipped 1.4 per cent and Boss Energy fell 6.4 per cent, one of the day's worst performers. The lifters Healthcare was the only sector in the green, up 1 per cent, with CSL 1.5 per cent stronger. Clarity Pharmaceuticals surged 10.2 per cent, Neuren Pharmaceuticals 9 per cent and Mesoblast 8 per cent, three of the strongest performers. Three of the big four banks finished higher. NAB added 1.2 per cent, Westpac gained 0.5 per cent, Commonwealth Bank – the biggest stock on the index – rose 0.1 per cent. ANZ fell 0.4 per cent. Mining giant Fortescue, chaired by billionaire Andrew Forrest, jumped 4.3 per cent after it revealed on Thursday it had shipped a record volume of the steel-making material iron ore from its mines in Western Australia in the year to June 30. Despite an economic downturn cooling demand from steel mills in China, by far the biggest buyer of Australian iron ore, Perth-based Fortescue said it had shipped 55.2 million tonnes of iron ore in the three months through June, taking its full-year volume to an all-time high of 198.4 million tonnes. Pexa Group soared 16.5 per cent to a nearly three-year high of $15.09 after the digital property exchange announced leading UK bank NatWest had agreed to facilitate future remortgages on Pexa's platform. The lowdown The local sharemarket lost ground after slightly hawkish comments by Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock, while the local currency climbed to an eight-month high. Bullock reiterated the bank's gradual monetary tightening in recent years was aimed at getting inflation under control without causing unemployment to rise excessively. Tightness in the labour market was a key concern of Australia's central bank as standing in the way of more rate cuts, but conditions were easing in line with expectations, Bullock said in a speech to the Anika Foundation. A 'measured and gradual' approach to policy easing was appropriate, Bullock said, adding that labour demand remained strong while core inflation was easing gradually. Loading NAB head of market economics Tapas Strickland said the speech leaned slightly hawkish and showed that an August rate cut was not a done deal. A second-quarter inflation readout that will be released on July 30 would be important, he said. Bullock's remarks led three-year government bond yields to extend gains, adding about 3 basis points to trade at 3.48 per cent. That's a 7-basis-point increase on the day. The Australian dollar also extended gains to be 0.3 per cent higher Risk currencies, including the Australian dollar, had benefited from a risk-on tone overnight as trade tensions eased, said NAB economist Pat Bustamante. Loading Financial markets are betting the Reserve will cut two more times this year while paring back the probability of a third reduction to 40 per cent, down from 76 per cent on Wednesday. Markets were paying close attention to various tariff negotiations, and global equities continued their rally as bulls drew fresh conviction from signs the US may strike more trade deals soon after clinching a pact with Japan. Overnight, US stocks set more records. Shares jumped in Tokyo, where the Nikkei 225 rallied 3.5 per cent after Trump announced a trade framework that would place a 15 per cent tax on imports coming from Japan. That's lower than the 25 per cent rate that Trump had earlier said would kick in on August 1. 'It's a sign of the times that markets would cheer 15 per cent tariffs,' said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. 'A year ago, that level of tariffs would be shocking. Today, we breathe a sigh of relief.' Locally, the federal government on Thursday revealed it would lift biosecurity restrictions on US beef as it seeks a way to dampen the blow of Trump's volatile tariff regime. Cattle producers were left blindsided by the decision, even though the level of US product arriving in Australia is expected to be very low. It has been suggested Australia will use the easing of rules to argue its case for the US to wind back 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium and Trump's threat to impose a 200 per cent tariff on pharmaceuticals. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said the decision was a purely scientific one. Trump in April singled out the beef trade disparity with Australia after Australian beef exports to the US surged last year, reaching $4 billion amid a slump in US beef production.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store