ASX closes lower; Wesfarmers, JB Hi-Fi tank
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The news: The Australian sharemarket finished lower as interest rate sensitive consumer discretionary and real estate sectors finished lower after higher-than-expected consumer price index data released on Wednesday squashed RBA rate cut hopes for next week.
The benchmark ASX 200 fell 0.46% to end at 8,885.5 with seven out of the 11 sectors finishing in the red.
The consumer discretionary sector (-4.2%) fell as Wesfarmers (-7.1%) and JB Hi-Fi (-4.5%) slumped. Wesfarmers and JB Hi-Fi held annual general meetings today.
The real estate sector (-2.3%) also slumped, with Arena REIT (-4.7%), Dexus (-4.3%), Centuria Capital (-3.8%), Mirvac Group (-3.8%) and National Storage REIT (-3.8%).
Biggest movers:
- Data#3 (-6.9%) – Macquarie analysts downgraded their rating on the stock as they see “risk weighted to the downside” while IT expenditure from small to medium sized enterprises remains subdued.
- Mineral Resources (+13.7%) – Posted a better-than-expected operations update for the first quarter. The miner said it remains on track to meet FY26 volume and cost guidance across all divisions. Liontown Resources (+11.2%) and Pilbara Minerals (+5.4%) also finished higher.
Other news:
- News Corp (-3.3%) – CEO of broadcasting Siobhan McKenna will step down from the company’s leadership at the end of the year after nearly a decade overseeing the company’s broadcasting operations.
- Whitehaven Coal (+2.6%) – Chairman Mark Vaile has told shareholders he plans to step down from his role over the next two years as the coal miner kickstarts its succession planning.
- Karoon Energy (+0.3%) – Appointed Carri Lockhart as its new managing director and chief executive, effective 3 November, as the company continues plans to move its headquarters to Brazil and the US.
- Westpac (+0.1%) – The Finance Sector Union has condemned Westpac for pushing through 134 job cuts across 99 branches, calling it "heartless and disrespectful to frontline workers" less than two months from Christmas.
- Ampol (-2.4%) – Fuel sales fell 7.6% in the September quarter compared to the previous corresponding period, which the company partly attributed to the impacts of increased fuel purchasing during a planned turnaround and inspection of its refinery in Lytton, Queensland.
- Coles (-2.6%) – Reported a 3.9% rise in group sales for the first quarter, boosted by growth in its core supermarkets business, while tumbling tobacco and liquor sales continued to weigh.
- Lynas Rare Earths (-3.2%) – Gross sales revenue hit $200 million in the September quarter, a 17.6% gain on the previous quarter, as higher sales volumes offset an easing in average selling price. US President Donald Trump claimed an end to China’s rare earth ‘roadblock’ following a meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping.
- Steadfast Group – Entered a trading halt as it investigates a “workplace complaint against a senior executive”, the insurance broker told the exchange.
What’s ahead:
- The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing will release manufacturing and non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index on Friday at 12:30pm AEDT.
