AU Evening Wrap: Australian Stocks Edge Higher, Led by Banking Sector
Market Performance
The Australian $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ index concluded the trading session with a modest 0.5% gain, ending at 7971.1, buoyed by a resurgence in the financial sector. The index experienced an uptick right from the start, spurred by an encouraging precedent set by U.S. stock markets. It retained its initial momentum, despite a downturn in mining and energy stocks.
Major banks including $ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ANZ.AU)$, $Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AU)$, $CommBank (CBA.AU)$, and $National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB.AU)$ saw their shares ascend by margins ranging from 0.75% to 1.2%, recouping some of the losses incurred since the previous week's end. In a noteworthy ascent, buy-now-pay-later firm $Zip Co Ltd (ZIP.AU)$—which recently re-entered the ASX 200 on the heels of $Altium Ltd (ALU.AU)$'s acquisition and subsequent delisting—leaped an additional 6.2% following a successful capital raise.
On the flip side, the materials sector recorded a 0.45% drop, marking its fourth straight session of losses, with iron-ore producers and gold mining companies dragging the sector down. Compounding the downward pressure, the energy sector retracted by 2.0%, a reflection of the descending trajectory in oil prices.
Top News
Woodside Energy Reports Decreased Production and Elevated Costs for Scarborough Project in Second Quarter
$Woodside Energy Group Ltd (WDS.AU)$ has observed a slight decrease of 1% in its quarterly production of oil and natural gas. Concurrently, the company has disclosed a rise in the expenditure for its prime Scarborough energy endeavor located off the coast of Australia.
In detail, Woodside produced 44.4 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) during the quarter ending in June, which represents a minor reduction from the 44.9 million BOE reported in the preceding fiscal quarter. This marginal decrease can be attributed to adverse meteorological conditions that impacted operations at the North West Shelf liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility and unforeseen disruptions at the Wheatstone and Julimar projects.
Despite the dip in production, the company's quarterly sales revenue experienced a modest increase to $3.03 billion, marking a 2% rise from the initial quarter of 2024. This financial gain primarily stemmed from the scheduling of LNG shipments from the Pluto facility. However, this was somewhat counterbalanced by a downturn in the prices realized, as noted by Woodside.
Source: Dow Jones Newswires, AFR, ASX
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