ASX adds 0.7% in fifth straight days of gains
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The news: The Australian sharemarket closed higher for the fifth consecutive session, with gains by technology and real estate stocks outweighing a selloff across utilities.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.69%, or 55.6 points, to end at 8,126.2, with seven of the 11 sectoral indices in the green.
Biggest movers:
- PEXA Group (5.4%) — Received an approval from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority, allowing it to launch its sale and purchase product offering.
- Liontown Resources (-7.9%) — Led a selloff among miners as gold producer Northern Star Resources (-3.5%) and iron ore giant Fortescue (-1.1%) tracked declines in benchmark commodity prices.
Earnings:
- Coles (-0.8%) — Reported a 3.4% rise in third-quarter sales, boosted by the ramp up of its second automated distribution centre in New South Wales.
- Origin Energy (-1.4%) — Posted an 11% drop in quarterly revenue at its integrated gas business, while sales volumes fell 7%.
- Stockland (1.3%) — Reaffirmed its full-year guidance after tying up plans for its $3 billion Waterloo renewal project in Sydney earlier this month.
- Perseus Mining (0.6%) — Said it expects to achieve full-year guidance despite an 8% drop in third-quarter production.
- Star Entertainment — Reported an EBITDA loss of $21 million in the three months to March, escalating from $8 million in the previous quarter.
Other news:
- Westpac (0.6%) — Expects first-half net profit after tax to be $140 million lower due to losses relating to economic hedges and net ineffectiveness on qualifying hedges, which reverse over time.
- Woodside Energy (0.4%) — Signed an agreement with BP to supply gas to its upcoming Louisiana LNG project in the US.
- DigiCo Infrastructure REIT (0.8%) — Announced that Mark Arbib will step down from its board, effectively immediately, following his appointment as chief executive of the Australian Olympic Committee.
