AU Morning Wrap | ASX 200 Turns Red; Banks Remain Mixed

Following the announcement that Former President Trump had secured a victory in the election, the stock market experienced a significant surge. Early reports from AP News confirmed Trump's win in nearly all pivotal swing states, leading to a remarkable rally in the markets. Major indices reached unprecedented levels, with the $Russell 2000 Index (.RUT.US)$ leading the charge, soaring by 5%.

The $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ saw an impressive rise, gaining over 1,000 points—the largest single-day increase since November 2022. Meanwhile, the $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ climbed 2.53%, and the $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ advanced 2.95% by the day's close. $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$ also reached a new intra-day peak at $76,000. Conversely, market volatility decreased, as indicated by the $CBOE Volatility S&P 500 Index (.VIX.US)$, which dropped 19.61% to 16.46.

Australian shares experienced early fluctuations, with the $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ slipping 0.24% to 8179.7, reversing gains from the opening. Among the 11 sectors, seven were in negative territory. The banking sector was notably mixed; $National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB.AU)$ led declines, falling 2.7% after reporting an 8% drop in FY24 cash profit to $7.1 billion, despite a slight rise in annual dividends. $CommBank (CBA.AU)$ saw a marginal dip of 0.1%, while $ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ANZ.AU)$ gained 1.3%. $Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AU)$ fell 2.3% as it traded ex-dividend. In contrast, the mining sector saw modest gains, with $Rio Tinto (RIO.US)$ and $Fortescue Ltd (FMG.AU)$ each up 1%, and $BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AU)$ inching up by 0.1%.

As of latest data, $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$ is priced at $75,505, up 8.2% in the past 24 hours, while $Ethereum (ETH.CC)$ is priced at $2,716, up 11.53% in the past 24 hours.

$National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB.AU)$'s FY24 results aligned with expectations, reporting an 8.1% decrease in cash earnings to $7.1bn, with a NIM of 1.71%, a final dividend of 85 cents, and CET1 ratio of 12.35%. Analysts noted the completion of $0.6bn of its $3bn buyback, with no further buybacks announced.

$Zip Co Ltd (ZIP.AU)$ posted a 234% increase in cash earnings for the first quarter of FY25 compared to the previous year.

$Scentre Group (SCG.AU)$ maintained its funds from operations guidance at 21.77¢ to 22.25¢.

$Steadfast Group Ltd (SDF.AU)$ rose 0.7% following its acquisition of H.W. Wood and HWI France for £23.5 million.

$NIB Holdings Ltd (NHF.AU)$ increased by 2.2%, citing the strongest start in over a decade for its Australian Residents Health Insurance unit in FY2025.

$Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (NEU.AU)$ climbed 5.5% after forecasting FY2024 income of $216 million to $218 million.

$Quickstep Holdings Ltd (QHL.AU)$ skyrocketed 43.6% to 27.5¢ following a takeover offer at 40¢ per share from major customer Asdam Operations.