3 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
ASX slides lower but miners shine; QBE slumps
The Australian sharemarket remains slightly lower at lunchtime on Friday on the back of a mixed session on Wall Street, while Donald Trump announced his choice to fill the vacant seat on the Federal Reserve board.
The S&P/ASX200 was down 7.7 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 8823.6 just after midday, with seven of 11 industry sectors in the red, with tech and health care stocks the biggest weights on the index.
Financial stocks are mixed. ANZ gained 0.3 per cent while Westpac lost 0.5 per cent, NAB gave up 0.4 per cent and Commonwealth Bank shed 0.3 per cent.
QBE shares slipped 6.7 per cent after the insurance giant reported a jump in net profit after tax to $US1.02 billion ($1.84 billion) in its first half, up from $802 million a year earlier.
Although the profit result was higher than market expectations, Barrenjoey analyst Andrew Adams said this was helped by foreign exchange movements, and some of the details within the result were 'more debateable' and could lead to volatility in the share price. Financial services company Block jumped 7.4 per cent on strong profit growth as it announced its results.
Mining stocks are higher, with iron ore heavyweights Fortescue (up 0.8 per cent), BHP (up 0.8 per cent) and Rio Tinto (up 0.1 per cent) advancing. Gold miners continued their winning run, with Newmont climbing 2 per cent, Northern Star bouncing 3.7 per cent and Evolution Mining rising 0.9 per cent.
Furniture seller Nick Scali's share price has risen 7.6 per cent after unveiling a 5.8 per cent lift in group revenue to $495.3 million. However, net profit fell by 28.3 per cent to $57.7 million.
MLC Asset Management senior portfolio manager Anthony Golowenko said there was 'solid momentum' in the Australia and New Zealand businesses, underpinned by a 7.3 per. cent uplift in written sales in the second half, while Fab Furniture, the business acquired in the UK, has been undergoing rebranding to Nick Scali.
'This profitable growth story 'keeps on keeping on' in ANZ, with strong progress and still some work to do in the UK,' Golowenko said.
