ASX closes higher; Liontown Resources leads lithium rebound
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The news: The Australian sharemarket finished higher as most sectors surged and Liontown Resources led a rebound for lithium miners.
The benchmark ASX 200 rose 1.13% to end at 8,945.9 with eight out of the 11 sectors finishing in green.
The healthcare sector (+2%) was the best performing as CSL (+3.7%) surged, with gains also posted by Sigma Healthcare (+1.4%) and Pro Medicus (+0.8%).
The materials sector (+1.8%) also finished strongly as Liontown Resources (+9.7%) led a rebound for lithium miners after Lithium Americas surged on the New York Stock Exchange overnight as it confirmed the US government would take an equity stake.
Fellow lithium miners Pilbara Minerals (+5.1%), IGO (+4.8%) and Mineral Resources (+4.2%), which also completed a $1.1 billion debt raise, finished higher.
Gold miners also surged as the spot price of the commodity continued its record setting rally. Westgold Resources (+8.3%) was among the best performers after lifting its three-year production plan on Wednesday.
Biggest movers:
- DroneShield (-9.8%) – Hit by profit taking after the stock had rallied 53.9% in the week to Wednesday as the European Union considered proposals to build a drone wall to repel Russia.
- Superloop (-8.2%) – Among the biggest losers on the ASX 200 despite there being no company specific news.
Executive and board moves:
- BlueScope Steel (+1.5%) – Non-executive director Peter Alexander has retired from the board. Long-time executive John Nowlan will stand for election as a non-independent, non-executive director.
- ARN Media (+0.9%) – Michael Stephenson, who joined the radio company from Nine Entertainment last year, has been appointed as the company’s next CEO.
Other news:
- Dexus Industria REIT (+1.1%) – Agreed to buy two freehold industrial assets in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong South for a combined price of $47.5 million.
- La Trobe Private Credit Fund (+0.5%) – ASIC lifted its interim stop order on La Trobe US Private Credit Fund after the fund made amendments to its target market determination.
- Southern Cross Media Group (0%) – Allan Gray managing director Simon Mawhinney has apologised for using “violent metaphors” in response to news that Southern Cross Austereo had agreed to merge with Seven West Media.
What’s ahead:
- The US Department of Labor is not expected to release weekly unemployment data overnight as ordinarily scheduled due to the US government shutdown.
- Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will deliver a speech to a business leaders meeting tomorrow at 11:05am AEST.
