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Market Wrap

ASX drops as CPI comes in higher than expected

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The news: The Australian sharemarket rose in early trading after gains on Wall Street but reversed in the afternoon, closing lower as all the big banks declined.

Last month’s annual CPI figure was unchanged from the previous two months and came in higher than expected.

The ASX 200 fell 0.13% to close at 8,396.9, with six of 11 sectors finishing in the green.

Biggest movers:

  • Financials (-0.7%) – The worst performing sector was led by Commonwealth Bank (-0.9%), which hit a new record high in the morning but closed lower. NAB (-1.09%), Westpac (-1.0%), and ANZ (-0.6%) also fell.
  • Web Travel Group (12.4%) – Business-to-business travel company Web Travel Group led ASX 200 gains after reporting a rise in transactions and bookings.
  • Energy (+2.22%) – Was the best performing sector sector amid oil price rises and as Woodside (+3.22%) received approval for plans to extend the operating life of its North West Shelf gas project in Western Australia. Santos (+1.87%), Yancoal (+1.53%), and Whitehaven Coal (+2.71%) were also up, although Ampol (-0.82%) was down.
  • ALS (-7.6%) – The testing and verification services firm led losses on the ASX 200 after completing a discounted $350 million institutional share placement.

Other news:

  • MAC Cooper (+20.4%) – Shares soared after the miner accepted a takeover bid from South Africa’s Harmony Gold, which was announced to the market yesterday evening.
  • Infratil (+6%) – The infrastructure investment company met its full-year earnings guidance but posted a net loss.
  • Goodman Group (+0.9%) – Goodman reaffirmed its FY25 forecast for 9% growth in operating earnings per share, and a distribution of 30 cents per share.
  • Telstra (-0.2%) – Macquarie analysts upgraded their position on the telecommunications giant from ‘neutral’ to ‘buy’ following the launch of its five-year strategy, but analysts at UBS downgraded it from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral’.
  • Coles (-0.4%) – Coles Liquor CEO Michael Courtney has been appointed to the newly created chief customer officer and chief digital officer roles. His former position will be filled by executive general manager supermarket operations Claire Lauber.
  • South32 (-0.7%) – Citi analysts downgraded their position on the miner’s shares as global metals demand is expected to fall.
  • Eager Automotive (-1.85%) – The vehicles dealer said it is on track to meet its profit forecasts for the 2025 financial year even as half-yearly profit is expected to come in lower year on year.
  • IGO (-3.1%) – The critical minerals miner withdrew from a joint venture with small cap Encounter Resources (-3.8%).
  • Fisher and Paykel (-4.8%) – The health equipment provider reported a 43% rise in net profit for the 2025 financial year.
  • Mineral Resources (-5.5%) – The lithium miner lowered its volume guidance for its Onslow iron project in Western Australia.

What’s ahead:

  • Meeting minutes for the US Federal Open Market Committee will be published at 4:00am on Thursday.
  • Royal Bank of New Zealand Governor Christian Hawkesby will testify on the Monetary Policy Statement made today before the Finance and Expenditure Committee in Wellington at 7:10am.
  • MA Financial will hold its annual general meeting.

By Brandon How