Big banks help boost Aust market at midday

Derek Rose | November 8, 2022

Big banks have been pushing the local share market higher this morning as commodity producers take a breather after some strong gains.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 25.6 points to 6959.3 at noon on Tuesday, a gain of 0.37 per cent. 

The broader All Ordinaries had risen 22.1 points to 7151.3, a 0.31 per cent rise.

The gains came after a strong day on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones rose 1.3 per cent and the S&P500 climbed 1.0 per cent ahead of the United States midterm elections.

“Traders may look to a Republican win, which usually leads to less spending of government, boosting treasuries and equity markets,” CMC Markets Auckland-based analyst Tina Teng wrote.

“However, a Democratic win in Congress may further lift the US dollar as the party tends to raise workers’ wages and spending on childcare, which could worsen the inflationary pressure, in turn driving up rates.

“Ultimately, the market movements will be policy-oriented whichever party wins,” Ms Teng wrote.

The heavyweight financial sector was leading the ASX at lunchtime with its 0.8 per cent gain fed by a solid performance from the big banks.

Commonwealth Bank was up 1.2 per cent to $104.30, Westpac had added 1.6 per cent to $23.57, NAB was up 0.9 per cent to $32.01 and ANZ had grown 0.5 per cent to $24.44.

The mining sector was basically flat after an excellent session on Monday, with BHP and Fortescue Metals both little changed. 

Lithium producers were again rallying, with Pilbara, Allkem, IGO and Core Lithium all up between 3.1 and 4.1 per cent.

James Hardie Industries had plunged 13.7 per cent to a more than two-year low of $28.82 after the wall and floor building products company downgraded guidance, citing a weakening housing market in Europe, the Asia Pacific and North America.

It now expects to make from $US650 million ($A1 billion) to $US710m ($A1.1 billion) , down from the $US730m ($A1.1 billion) to $US780m ($A1.2 billion) previously forecast.

The Lottery Corp was up 5.1 per cent to $4.52 as the Tabcorp spin-off held its first annual general meeting in Brisbane. 

Chief executive Sue van der Merwe told shareholders the company plans to increase the cost of a Powerball subscription next year from $1.10 to $1.20, which she said would reinforce its position as Australia’s premier jackpot game.