ASX edges higher at noon after Labor win

Derek Rose | May 23, 2022

The local bourse has edged higher this morning after the weekend’s federal election provided some certainty over the country’s direction, removing the threat of a hung parliament.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index at noon on Monday was 14.8 points to 7,160.4, a gain of 0.2 per cent. The broader All Ordinaries was up 18.7 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 7,409.7.

The materials sector was the biggest gainer, up 1.4 per cent, as Labor appeared to be on the verge of being able to form a government without any help from the Greens.

Fortescue Metals was up 3.8 per cent to $20.92, Rio Tinto had risen 1.9 per cent to $110.40 and BHP had climbed 2.2 per cent to $48.20.

Other sectors were mixed, with financials, tech, health care and utilities all down by around half a per cent. Energy had climbed 0.9 per cent.

Codan and Elders were leading the market, with both posting double digit gains on earnings updates.

Elders was up 10.9 per cent to an all-time high of $15.19 after the agribusiness raised its interim dividend by 40 per cent to 28 cents per share, saying it had outperformed in the six months to March 31, compared to the same period a year ago.

Favourable seasonable conditions in key cropping areas has driven demand for Elders’ fertiliser and crop protection products, cattle and sheep prices are expected to remain high, and Elders’ real estate division is seeing strong demand for both farmland and residential property, the company said.

“The outlook is bright for the remainder of 2022 for Elders, its shareholders and its customers,” said chief executive Mark Allison.

Codan gained 14.9 per cent to $7.57 to xx after the Adelaide-based metal detector manufacturer announced it was expecting to record a $100 million profit in fiscal 2022.

“Our decision to invest in inventory rather than let customers down has proven to be the correct one,” and its two acquisitions last year of US-based tactical communications companies has been paying off, Codan said.

Star Entertainment Group was down 0.6 per cent to $3.09 after the embattled gaming company named replacements for John O’Neill, who is stepping down at the end of the month as executive chairman.

Geoff Hogg, its interim chief casino officer for NSW and Queensland, will become interim CEO, and director Ben Heap will serve as interim chairman.