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

News.com.au

2 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.