AU Evening Wrap | ASX Winning Streak Halted at 10 as Powell Speech Loom

• Top losers: $Spark New Zealand Ltd (SPK.AU)$ $Whitehaven Coal Ltd (WHC.AU)$ $Fletcher Building Ltd (FBU.AU)$

Australia's $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ snapped a 10-day winning streak to close almost flat at 8023.9. The utilities sector led the losses, falling 1.3%, followed by energy stocks which closed down 1.1%.

$Inghams Group Ltd (ING.AU)$ was the day's worst performing stock, dropping 20% in the wake of its FY 2024 results which forecast poultry volumes to fall in fiscal 2025 amid cost-of-living pressures. It was a mixed day for the major banks. $CommBank (CBA.AU)$ and $National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB.AU)$ rose 0.3% and 0.1% respectively. $Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AU)$ lost 0.1%, while $ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ANZ.AU)$ fell 2.2% on news the regulator was requiring the lender to hold an extra A$250 million in regulatory capital. Healthcare was a standout sector, rising 0.6%, driven partly by strength in $Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (FPH.AU)$ which added 12% to become the day's best performer. The benchmark index is up 0.7% for the week.

Quality companies have rebounded strongly, with $WiseTech Global Ltd (WTC.AU)$, $Light & Wonder Inc (LNW.AU)$, $Goodman Group (GMG.AU)$, $Block Inc (SQ2.AU)$, and $CSL Ltd (CSL.AU)$ delivering impressive earnings results. The trend continued on Friday as $Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (FPH.AU)$ surged 11.9% to $32.83 after upgrading its profit guidance for FY 2025 to between NZ$320 million and NZ$370 million.

$Guzman y Gomez Ltd (GYG.AU)$ shares climbed 3.5% to a record high of $34.71 in anticipation of the company's first earnings report since its ASX listing in June, due next week.

$Inghams Group Ltd (ING.AU)$ shares dropped to their lowest since August 2023 following disappointing FY24 earnings and FY25 guidance. The company's largest customer, Woolworths, reduced its poultry purchasing volumes. Despite increases in core poultry sales volume, net selling price, EBITDA, and NPAT, the results fell short of analyst expectations, with FY25 EBITDA guidance flat to 6% growth. The total FY24 dividend was also below expectations.