AU Morning Wrap: ASX Falls on Tech; Harvey Norman, South32 Jump

Moomoo News AU wrote a column · Feb 29 07:41

G'day, mooers! Check out the latest news on today's stock market!
• Nasdaq approaches its record high
• ASX retreats
• Stocks to watch: South32, Harvey Norman, Star Entertainment

AU Morning Wrap: ASX Falls on Tech; Harvey Norman, South32 Jump

Wall Street Summary

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite resumed its climb Tuesday, closing within striking distance of a record high hit in 2021.

The gauge rose 0.4 per cent, off 0.1 per cent from its record of 16057.44. The S&P 500 was little changed for much of the day before closing up 0.2 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 96.82 points, or 0.2 per cent. All three are on track to close out the month with gains.

Bitcoin prices jumped to $56,989.30, the highest level since December 2021.

AU Market Watch

The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ dropped 0.1 per cent on Thursday morning as gains among the property sector were offset by losses for tech on the final day of company reporting.

Stocks to Watch

$South32 Ltd (S32.AU)$: South32 flagged a potential deal to sell its Illawarra coal business for up to $2.5 billion. Shares gained 4.8 per cent to $2.95.

$Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (HVN.AU)$: Harvey Norman's adjusted profits (excluding property revaluations) slid 29.5 per cent to $126.9 million. Net assets totalled $4.51 billion at the period end. Shares added 5.3 per cent to $4.94.

$The Star Entertainment Group Ltd (SGR.AU)$: Star Entertainment reported revenues down 14 per cent as it faces licene problems in Sydney and plans to open a new Brisbane casino.

$Ramsay Health Care Ltd (RHC.AU)$: Ramsay Health cut its dividend and warned margins are under pressure on rising costs. Shares gained 0.8 per cent to $51.61.

$Booktopia Group Ltd (BKG.AU)$: Booktopia widened its net loss as its auditor flagged worries over its balance sheet and cashflows.

Trading Ex-div: $Suncorp Group Ltd (SUN.AU)$, $AUB Group Ltd (AUB.AU)$

Dividends Paid: $Charter Hall Retail REIT (CQR.AU)$, $Scentre Group (SCG.AU)$

Listing: None

Economic Calendar (AEDT):

11:30 am: Australian Housing Credit (Jan)

11:30 am: Australian Retail Sales (Jan)

6:45 pm: France Inflation (Feb)

11:00 pm: India GDP (Q4)

12:00 am: Germany Inflation (Feb)

12:30 am: Canada GDP (Q4)

12:30 am: US Core PCE (Jan)