AU Morning Wrap: ASX Rallies; CBA Rises on A$2.5bn First Quarter Profit

Given a lift by Boeing, the $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ rose 0.2 per cent, or roughly 55 points. The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ slipped 0.1 per cent, while the tech-heavy $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ fell 0.2 per cent.

$S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ rallied 0.8 per cent minutes after trading opened, buoyed by a rebound in commodity prices as investors await key US inflation data for clues on whether interest rates have peaked.

$CommBank (CBA.AU)$: Shares in Commonwealth Bank gained 0.9 per cent after it lifted statutory profit by 1 epr cent to $2.5 billion in the September quarter even as its profit margin was crunched further.

$Telstra Group Ltd (TLS.AU)$: Telstra edged up 0.4 per cent after it confirmed underlying earnings of $8.2 billion to $8.4 billion for fiscal 2024.

$OFX Group Ltd (OFX.AU)$: Online foreign exchange and payments company OFX Group dropped 8.5 per cent as investors shrugged off a 5 per cent gain in statutory profit in the six months to September.

L $ALS Ltd (ALQ.AU)$: aboratory services giant ALS jumped 6 per cent. It posted a nearly 10 per cent drop in statutory net profit in the first half of fiscal 2024, and lowered its dividend and guidance.

$Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (TLX.AU)$: Telix Pharmaceuticals gained 2.1 per cent as it is planning to buy US-based therapeutic company QSAM Biosciences for a total of $US123 million ($193 million) in cash and equity.

$Bank of Queensland Ltd (BOQ.AU)$: Bank of Queensland (BoQ) advanced 0.5 per cent. The regional lender plans to redeem $100 million of capital notes originally issued by Members Equity in 2018.

$Origin Energy Ltd (ORG.AU)$: Origin Energy shed 1.7 per cent following another twist in its takeover battle. An eleventh-hour effort by Origin's two North American suitors to overcome the stubborn opposition of Origin’s biggest shareholder, AustralianSuper, to their $20 billion takeover by bringing it into the bid consortium has foundered just hours after the offer was made.

Trading Ex-div: $QV Equities Ltd (QVE.AU)$, $National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB.AU)$