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Market Wrap

ASX closes higher; uranium miners and consumer discretionary rally

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The news: The Australian sharemarket finished higher as uranium miners led the energy sector higher and iron ore miners drove gains in the materials sector amid increased output from Chinese steel mills.

The benchmark ASX 200 gained 0.28% to end at 8,877.7 with eight out of the 11 sectors finishing in green.

The energy sector (+0.9%) was best performing, led by a rally by uranium miners Deep Yellow (+9.2%) and Boss Energy (+7.1%). Citi analysts said they see “uranium prices staying elevated for the next 2-3 years” after Paladin Energy entered a trading halt ahead of a $300 million equity placement intended to advance its Patterson Lake South project towards final investment decision.

The consumer discretionary sector (+0.8%) was buoyed by Wesfarmers (+1.3%), JB Hi-Fi (+2%), Harvey Norman (+3.1%) and Breville Group (+3.9%).

The materials sector (+0.7%) also finished higher as BHP (+0.5%), Fortescue (+1.1%) and Rio Tinto (+1.9%) posted gains. The price of iron ore index futures on the Singapore exchange gained on new data that indicated a jump in Chinese steel production and supply disruptions in Brazil.

Biggest movers:

  • New Hope Corporation (+5.1%) – Reported a fall in full-year net profit, as increased production and lower unit costs was offset by a fall in coal prices. Declared a final dividend of 15 cents per share.
  • Gold miners – The spot price of gold continued to soar ahead of an expected US rate cut decision and the US dollar weakened further. Bellevue Gold (+6.3%) and Westgold Resources (+2.6%) gained.
  • Regis Healthcare (+4.5%) – Assessing the financial impact of pricing changes to the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC), made by the federal government on Friday.Super Retail Group (-4.3%) – Rebel owner fired its managing director and CEO Anthony Heraghty over his relationship with the company’s former chief human resources officer.
  • CSL (-1.3%) – Agreed to partner with Dutch outfit VarmX to develop a "potentially first-in-class" coagulation treatment in a deal worth up to $760 million.

Executive and board moves:

  • AUB Group (+2%) – Chief financial officer Mark Shanahan had left the business and non-executive director Richard Deutsch retired from the board. Group deputy CFO Nick Dryden has moved into the CFO role on an interim basis.
  • Sigma Healthcare (+0.3%) – Appointed former JB Hi-Fi chief executive Richard Murray as its new chief financial officer, commencing 13 October.

Deals news:

  • Newmont Corporation (+1%) – Agreed to sell its Coffee Project in Canada to Fuerte Metals Corporation for up to USD150 million ($225 million).
  • Betr (0%) – Rival PointsBet suitor MIXI confirmed it has secured a 66.43% relevant interest over PointsBet at the close of its off-market takeover offer.
  • Gold Road Resources (+0.6%) – Announced a fully franked special dividend of 43.69 cents per share as part of the deal to be acquired by Gruyere Holdings, a subsidiary of Johannesburg-based Gold Fields.

What’s ahead:

  • The US Census Bureau will release retail sales data for August tonight at 10:30pm AEST.
  • The UK Office of National Statistics will release CPI data for August tomorrow at 4:00pm AEST.

By Brandon How