ASX closes lower; Westpac, CBA led banking decline
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The news: The Australian sharemarket closed lower after experiencing its worst single day losses since April, after closing at new record highs in the previous two trading sessions, as the country’s biggest banks erased gains.
The benchmark ASX 200 fell 1.02% to end at 8668.2 with nine of the 11 sectors finishing in the red.
The finance sector (-2.3%) was the biggest loser as Commonwealth Bank (-2.5%), NAB (-2.4%), Westpac (-3.6%) and ANZ (-2.5%) finished lower.
The energy sector (+1.2%) was the biggest gaining sector as Woodside (+4.1%), Yancoal (+4.1%) and Santos (+0.3%) finished higher.
Biggest movers:
- Block Inc. (+11.2%) – The dual-listed owner of Afterpay was the biggest gainer on the ASX 200 on news that it will be added to the S&P 500 index.
- AMP (+9.8%) – Defied a sell-off in the finance sector after reporting a 63% year-on-year increase in net-cashflows for the second-quarter as well as the first positive net cashflows for its superannuation and investments business since 2017.
- Iron ore majors – BHP (+0.4%), Fortescue (+1.5%) and Rio Tinto (+1.2%) shares lifted amid surging futures index prices for the commodity on the Singapore exchange. Demand prospects for the steel-making input are set to rise after Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced construction had begun on what would be the world’s largest hydropower project.
- Cromwell Property Group (+8.2%) – Brookfield is set to buy Hong Kong-based property investor ESR Group’s remaining 19.9% stake in the real estate investment and management company.
- Insignia Financial (-5.8%) – The Wealth Manager told investors that it remains in discussions with US private equity firm CC Capital on a proposed $3.4 billion buyout but flagged that “there is no certainty that the ongoing discussions will result in any transaction”.
Deals news:
- Abacus Storage King (-0.4%) – Ki Corporation and Public Storage have been granted a six-week period of due diligence following their proposed $2.2 billion joint takeover last week.
- Spartan Resources (-1.8%) – Set to be suspended from trading on Tuesday after receiving court approval to be acquired by rival gold miner Ramelius Resources (%).
- Regis Resources (-3.8%) – Announced the purchase of the Southern Star prospect from Great Southern Mining for $9 million as well as full-year production at the top end of its FY25 guidance range.
Other news:
- South32 (+4.5%) – The diversified miner announced it achieved 102% of its group production guidance for FY25 and reported a 21% increase in quarterly sales.
- Perenti (+2.1%) – The mining services company flagged that free cash flow at the end of financial year 2025 is expected to be 87% higher than previously issued guidance, based on preliminary unaudited results.
- Bell Financial Group (+0.8%) – Announced that Nick Hamilton would begin as chief financial officer on 28 July. He moves from financial services firm McMillan Shakespeare.
- Eagers Automotive (-3.6%) – UBS analysts downgraded their position on the stock from ‘neutral’ to ‘sell’ but increased their 12-month target price from $14.80 to $16.50.
- IperionX – Entered a trading halt ahead of a potential capital raise announcement.
What’s ahead:
- The Reserve Bank of Australia will release its Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes for July tomorrow at 11:30am.
