Australian share market slightly higher, drop in energy
Derek Rose |
The local share market has closed overall little changed from where it began, although traders were digesting the impact of the NSW election and a landmark climate deal on specific companies and sectors.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Monday finished up 6.8 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 6,962, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 6.2 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 7,143.8.
“There is a sense of caution among traders and investors, and some are very sceptical about backing riskier assets after the banking crisis,” said Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer of Zaye Capital Markets.
Signs of stress for German investment bank Deutsche Bank AG that emerged over the weekend added to the jitters.
Three of the ASX’s 11 official sectors were lower, seven were higher and mining was flat.
The energy sector was the biggest loser, falling 2.3 per cent as Labor and the Greens reached agreement on a “safeguard mechanism” that would restrict new coal and gas projects.
While the deal doesn’t include the outright ban on new fossil fuel projects the Greens had sought, it will make their approval much more difficult.
Woodside retreated 3.4 per cent to $31.47, Santos dropped 1.6 per cent to $6.74 and Whitehaven Coal closed down 1.5 per cent to $6.38.
Also, Ampol fell 1.2 per cent to $29.87 after announcing its Lytton refinery in Brisbane would only be able to produce diesel and jet fuel through early May because of a cracked valve, an outage that’s expected to cost the company $30 million to $50 million.
The utility sector was the biggest gainer, rising 2.2 per cent as Origin Energy climbed 3.2 per cent on reports that Brookfield and EIG Partners’ $18.2 billion takeover offer for Australia’s biggest utility could be finalised this week.
Elsewhere, pub owner Endeavour Group was up 2.8 per cent to a six-week high of $6.92 after Labor won the NSW election over the weekend, easing investor fears of a statewide rollout of cashless gaming machines and potentially burdensome rules aimed at curbing problem gambling.
In the financial sector, Latitude Group fell 2.5 per cent to $1.18 after the consumer finance company announced the hack of its systems detected a fortnight ago was vastly larger than first thought.
The big banks were mixed, with NAB up 0.9 per cent to $27.41 and Westpac adding 0.2 per cent to $21.23, while ANZ dropped 0.4 per cent to $22.44 and CBA fell 0.8 per cent to $95.07.
Bank of Queensland was flat at $6.40 after the regional lender announced current executive chairman Patrick Allaway would take the role of managing director and CEO until December 2024, following the ouster of George Frazis in November.
In the heavyweight mining sector, BHP was down 0.2 per cent to $43.55, Rio Tinto had dropped 0.6 per cent to $113.75 and Fortescue Metals was flat at $20.32.
Lithium producer Lake Resources plunged 13.5 per cent after announcing its non-executive chairman, Stu Low, had sold $3.9m worth of shares in recent days.
In retail, Premier Investments fell 2.5 per cent to $24.70 despite the Smiggle and Peter Alexander owner beating expectations by growing sales 17.6 per cent for the 26 weeks to January 28.
Chairman Solomon Lew said the company had “executed strongly to support the delivery of record results in an uncertain economic environment”.
Pathology chain Healius was up 2.1 per cent and Australian Clinical Labs was down 2.5 per cent after two major Healius shareholders announced they were not in favour of ACL’s audacious $1.5 billion takeover offer for its larger competitor.
In small cap news, Newcastle-based short-term holiday rental company Alloggio Group had soared 44.7 per cent to an all-time high of 27.5c after agreeing to be purchased by Sydney-based private equity firm Next Capital for $35.5 million.
Also, ImpediMed rocketed 111.9 per cent to a 10-month high of 12.5c after a US cancer network recommended using a body-scanning technology that ImpediMed specialises in to screen cancer survivors at risk of lymphoedema.
The Australian dollar was buying 66.61 US cents, from 66.86 US cents at Friday’s ASX close.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Monday up 6.8 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 6,962.0.
* The broader All Ordinaries gained 6.2 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 7,143.8.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 66.61 US cents, from 66.86 US cents at Friday’s ASX close
* 87.14 Japanese yen, from 87.08 Japanese yen
* 61.80 Euro cents, from 61.72 Euro cents
* 54.38 British pence, from 54.43 pence
* 107.26 NZ cents, from 107.16 NZ cents
AAP
