ASX closes lower, Xero led tech stocks down
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The news: The Australian sharemarket has closed lower as the tech sector weighed on the bourse, led by losses at Xero after the accounting software provider announced a $3.9 billion cash and scrip plan to acquire US-based software company Melio.
The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicated that job vacancies rose by 2.9% in May.
The benchmark ASX 200 fell 0.10% to end at 8550.8, with seven of the 11 sectors finishing in red.
Biggest movers:
- Tech sector (-2.1%) – While Xero's (-5.3%) plan to acquire Melio was announced on Wednesday, its shares only resumed trading on Thursday after the company completed a $1.85 billion institutional placement to help fund the acquisition. WiseTech Global (-0.6%), Technology One (-1.1%) and Life360 (-1.8%) also finished lower although NextDC (+0.6%) finished higher.
- Lithium miners – Pilbara Minerals (+5.6%), Liontown Resources (+2.9%) and Mineral Resources (+3.6%) were among the biggest gainers on the ASX 200 after the world's second-largest lithium miner SQM announced workforce cuts. IGO (+1.8%) also finished higher.
- Gold miners – The price of the haven asset sunk earlier in the weak as geopolitical tensions eased and have since steadied. Gold miners, however, have tracked down, with Evolution Mining (-0.9%), Northern Star Resources (-2.3%) and Regis Resources (-0.5%) among the biggest losers on the ASX 200.
- Neuren Pharmaceuticals (+6.1%) – The biotech announced that it expects to be issued a patent for its Pitt Hopkins syndrome treatment NNZ-2591.
- Clarity Pharmaceuticals (+14.4%) – The biotech company was the best performer on the ASX 200 despite there being no company-specific news.
Executive moves and appointments:
- ANZ (+2.2%) – The bank’s group executive of technology and group services, Gerard Florian, will retire from his role on 4 August to pursue non-executive positions. ANZ Bank New Zealand’s chief information officer Michael Bullock will act in the role until a permanent replacement is found.
- News Corp (-0.6%) – News Corp Australia chief technology officer Julian Delany has been promoted to executive vice president and chief technology officer of the company’s global operations. He will replace David Kline when he leaves at the end of the financial year.
- ASX Limited (-0.7%) – Former Westpac Institutional Bank chief executive Rob Whitfield will lead the inquiry into the ASX Group’s governance. He is joined by former Telstra Broadcast Services chief financial officer and commercial director Christine Holman and former Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Guy Debelle.
Other news:
- Perenti (+1.9%) – The mining services company’s subsidiary Barminco has secured a three-year underground mining contract from Westgold Resources (+0.3%) for work at its Great Fingall mine near Cue.
- Wilson Asset Management Global (+0.8%) – Announced that its investment portfolio has increased in value by 18.8% in the financial year to 31 May.
- Aurizon (-0.3%) – The rail freight operator warned the market it expects to miss full-year earnings guidance and that it is combining its bulk and containerised freight operations under a single group executive.
- Regal Partners (-0.9%) – The investment manager acquired a 50% holding in hotel investor Ark Capital Partners as part of a new hotel asset strategy.
- PointsBet (-1.3%) – Japanese entertainment giant MIXI confirmed it would propose an off-market takeover bid after its initial proposal did not pass a shareholder meeting on Wednesday due to rival bookmaker Betr’s (+1%) opposition.
What’s ahead:
- Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey will speak at the British Chambers of Commerce Global Annual Conference tonight at 9pm.
- The US Bureau of Economic Analysis will release the third estimate of gross domestic product data for the first quarter of 2025 tonight at 10:30pm.
- The US Department of Labor will release weekly data on unemployment claims tonight at 10:30pm.
