AU Morning Wrap | ASX Flat, CSL Slumps, Temple & Webster Soars 25%; Gold Nears Record High
G'day, mooers! Check out the latest news on today's stock market!
• Stocks Inch Up as Wall Street Slightly Extends Recent Rebound from Early Month Pullback
• Australian Shares Steady Amid Company Results and U.S. Inflation Data Anticipation
• Stocks to watch: CSL, CGF, SEK, TPW
Wall Street Summary
Stocks mostly inched up Monday as Wall Street managed to slightly extend its recent rebound from the big pullback that it saw earlier this month on weak July U.S. jobs data.
The $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ led the upward, gaining 35.31 points (0.2%) to a 16,780.61 close. The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ likewise inched up 0.23 points (less than 0.1%) to a 5,344.39 finish, although the $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ shed 140.53 ticks (0.4) to 39,357.01.
The main indexes mostly rose as stocks continued to stabilize from the roughly 5% sell-off that they saw Aug.2-5 after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a weaker-than-expected July jobs report.
The soft data had Wall Street – which had previously been hoping for a slower economy to curb inflation and allow for Federal Reserve rate cuts -- worrying that things had slowed too much and a recession could be looming.
However, the market's key indexes have since recouped a majority of their recent losses.
AU Market Watch
Australian shares remained largely steady after the market opened, mirroring Wall Street's uncertainty ahead of key U.S. inflation data and a flurry of corporate earnings. The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ dipped 0.03% to 7811.20, following a 0.5% gain on Monday. Gains in real estate and energy sectors offset a significant slump in health stocks, driven by a 2.9% drop in biotech giant CSL despite its forecast for double-digit earnings growth. Challenger surged 4.8% after raising its dividend by 10%, while Seek fell 9% due to a decline in job ads. Rising oil prices lifted Woodside, Santos, and Beach Energy, while the big four banks saw gains led by Westpac and ANZ. The Australian dollar remained steady at US65.80¢ ahead of key wage price index data.
Gold finished at a record high while oil prices spiked ~3% as the latest headlines around Israel and Iran raised supply concerns
Crypto
As of latest data, $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$ is priced at $59,399, up by 1.25% in the past 24 hours, while $Ethereum (ETH.CC)$ is priced at $2,713, up by 6.25% in the past 24 hours.
Stocks to Watch
$CSL Ltd (CSL.AU)$ reported a 20% increase in full-year net profit to $US2.64 billion ($4 billion), driven by "exceptional growth" in its immunoglobulins business.
Wealth giant $Challenger Ltd (CGF.AU)$ saw a 24% decline in full-year net profit to $130 million but increased its dividend by 10% to 26.5¢ fully franked.
Online recruitment platform $Seek Ltd (SEK.AU)$ experienced a 13% drop in earnings to $483 million in fiscal 2024 due to a fall in job ads across the Asia-Pacific region.
Building products group $James Hardie Industries PLC (JHX.AU)$ posted a 1% rise in first-quarter adjusted earnings to $236 million and maintained its fiscal 2025 guidance.
Online retailer $Temple & Webster Group Ltd (TPW.AU)$ achieved record revenue of $498 million for the 2024 financial year, up 26% from the previous year.
$Region Group (RGN.AU)$, the country's largest owner of suburban malls, reported a statutory net profit of $17.3 million.
Metal recycler $Sims Ltd (SGM.AU)$ sold two assets as it navigates the toughest recycling market in a decade.
Economic Calendar (AEST)
10:30 am: Australia Consumer Confidence (Aug)
11:30 am: Australia Business Confidence (Jul)
7:00 pm: Germany ZEW Economic Sentiment Index (Aug)
10:30 pm: US Producer Price Index (Jul)
Source: Dow Jones Newswires, AFR
Disclaimer: Moomoo Technologies Inc. is providing this content for information and educational use only.
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