AU Evening Wrap | ASX Rises with Record Gains from WiseTech, Brambles, and Charter Hall

"Earnings results continue to prove quite resilient with companies delivering profit growth largely in line with and/or ahead of market expectations," said Dominic Mlcek, a portfolio manager at Infinity Asset Management. Operational efficiencies and product enhancements have driven margin expansion and strong cash flow generation. Top performers included Charter Hall, which soared nearly 16%, Breville with a nearly 5% jump due to record sales, and Superloop, advancing 6.6% on strong earnings forecasts. Conversely, energy company Santos and coal stocks like Yancoal underperformed, dragging their respective sectors lower.

Gold prices hit a record $US2,531.75, pushing the value of a gold bar past $US1 million for the first time, driving St Barbara up 6.3% and Bellevue 3.4%. Rising iron ore prices, aided by China's property market measures, boosted BHP 1.6%, Rio Tinto 1.3%, and Fortescue 4.1%, although these shares remain down over 20% this year.

WiseTech Global shares soared after exceeding FY24 expectations with a 28% revenue increase to $1.04 billion, a 15% rise in underlying net profit to $283.5 million, and a 23% increase in earnings per share to 79.4 cents. The company also provided an FY25 EBITDA guidance of $680 million, marking a 37% year-on-year growth.

Brambles shares surged to record highs after FY24 results outperformed expectations, with sales up 7% to $6.54 billion, a 17% increase in operating profit to $779 million, a 19% rise in basic EPS to 56.1 cents, and a total dividend of 34 cents. The company also forecasted FY25 underlying profit growth of 8-11%.