Latest news with #NichiketSunil
Mint
22-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
Gold miners, banks keep Australian shares afloat in holiday-thinned week
Gold miners surge to record highs Australian banks jump; CBA soars to all-time high Tech stocks decline, energy sector down 2% By Sameer Manekar and Nichiket Sunil April 22 (Reuters) - Australian shares ended little changed on Tuesday as volumes remained thin in a holiday-truncated week and a rush to safer assets like banks and gold miners offset a sell-off in tariff-exposed sectors such as technology and energy. The S&P/ASX 200 index slipped marginally to finish at 7,816.70 points. Volumes were at their lowest in more than three weeks as trade resumed after a four-day weekend. Markets will be closed again on Friday. An overnight flight from U.S. assets, sparked by President Donald Trump's relentless criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Powell, spilled into Australia's tech stocks that broadly tracks the Nasdaq index. But a rush to gold miners and banks kept the benchmark afloat. "The (ASX) market is actually outperforming the U.S. as the gold producers are holding the market up," said Jessica Amir, a market strategist at moomoo, predicting the case for gold to further solidify on rising demand. Gold miners surged nearly 3% to finish at a record high as bullion continued to scale new peaks. The sub-index clocked its seventh straight day of gains. Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining jumped 3% and 4.9%, respectively, to finish at all-time highs. The financials sub-index, dominated by the "Big Four" banks, jumped over 1% to a near seven-week high. Top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) surged 4.2% to finish at its all-time high of A$168.00 per share. "The Australian banks are seen as a safe haven. We're seeing quite a lot of buying in the CBA and it's up quite strongly against the market," said Jun Bei Liu, portfolio manager at TenCap, an investment management firm. Tech stocks fell to a near two-week low, while the energy sector declined 1.9% on weak oil prices. The mining and consumer staple stocks gained slightly, while healthcare and real estate fell up to 1%.
Reuters
26-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Singapore's Sembcorp posts 7% rise in annual profit
Feb 27 (Reuters) - Singapore's Sembcorp Industries ( opens new tab posted a 7% rise in its full-year profit on Thursday, driven by better performance in the Integrated Urban Solutions segment, which was offset by lower income in their Gas and Related Services division. The utility company said its total net profit was S$1.01 billion ($755.42 million) for the year ended December 31, compared with S$942 million a year ago. ($1 = 1.3370 Singapore dollars) The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. Reporting by Nichiket Sunil and Aaditya Govind Rao in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Rashmi Aich
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Woodside, Santos face earnings dip; growth projects in focus
By Shivangi Lahiri and Nichiket Sunil (Reuters) - Woodside Energy and Santos, Australia's top oil and gas producers, are expected to log a modest fall in annual earnings, with investors seeking more clarity on dividend payouts amid lingering execution risks to key growth projects. The primary reason for an annual profit decline will be softer energy prices, according to John Lockton, head of investment strategy at Sandstone Insights. "Flat volumes combined with flat energy prices leave revenue growth flat (for both companies)in US$ terms," he told Reuters. Woodside is forecast to report an underlying net profit of $2.96 billion for fiscal 2024, according to Visible Alpha consensus estimates, down from $3.32 billion last year. In a line-item forecast released on Monday, Woodside said it expects higher restoration costs for the year, along with "other expenses" of $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion - both much higher than consensus estimates. Doubts about the company's growth projects have been heightened by its projection for its Sangomar project in Senegal to maintain a production plateau into the second quarter of 2025. "Higher restoration costs will see cash flow downgrades, and the potential earlier Sangomar decline would also be a cash drag. This will raise questions about the sustainability of the payout ratio," Citi analysts said in a note. Woodside is also yet to assess whether potential tariffs would have a negative impact on a stake sell-down for its Louisiana liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, said analysts at Jarden, as investors wait for evidence the company is controlling costs. Woodside fully owns the Louisiana LNG project after its $1.2 billion acquisition of developer Tellurian Inc in October but is looking to sell a 50% stake. For smaller peer Santos, the focus will be on construction progress of its Pikka Phase 1 project in Alaska, with investors looking for indications whether acceleration of first oil production into late 2025 is possible, Jarden analysts said. Last month, Santos said first gas from its nearly completed $4.3 billion Barossa project is expected in the third quarter this year. "We see some risk that Santos' production and capital expenditure estimates from its legacy fields are too optimistic and may need to be rebased," Sandstone's Lockton said. "Santos' new capital management policy, which should lift distribution per share payments by around 20%, will also be on display." Santos is expected to report an annual underlying profit of $1.32 billion, according to consensus estimates, lower than last year's $1.42 billion. Santos and Woodside are due to release their annual earnings updates on February 19 and February 25, respectively. Sign in to access your portfolio
