ASX edges higher as Goodman Group leads real estate rally
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The news: The Australian sharemarket closed 0.12% higher after trimming early gains of around 0.6%.
Real estate (1.6%) ended as the best performing sector, adding to a 2.1% jump on Tuesday. However, mining (-1.6%) and energy (-1.3%) stocks dropped as investors braced for new "Liberation Day" tariffs set to be announced by US President Donald Trump on Thursday morning AEDT.
The ASX 200 index closed at 7,934.5, with six of 11 sectors finishing in the green.
Big ASX 200 movers:
- Goodman Group (3.2%) — Led a rally across real estate stocks, as heavyweights Charter Hall Group (3.2%) and Lendlease (2.5%) also advanced.
- Treasury Wine Estates (-5.4%) — Appointed former Orora CEO Nigel Garrard to its board as an independent non-executive director.
Executive moves:
- Westpac (1.1%) — Hired Bupa and ex-NAB executive Kate Dee as its chief people officer.
- Dyno Nobel (-5.4%) — Named Vocus Group's consumer division CEO Nitesh Naidoo as its new chief financial officer. The company, formerly called Incitec Pivot, also traded under its new name for the first time.
Other news:
- Mineral Resources (-2.3%) — Served with class action proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria and said it intends to "strongly defend the matter".
- Star Entertainment (shares suspended) — Confirmed that property funds manager Salter Brothers Capital has withdrawn its $940 million refinancing proposal, and said it will engage with US casino giant Bally's Corporation over an earlier funding proposal.
- Zip (-3.9%) — Plans to appeal a Federal Court decision which favoured mortgage provider Firstmac in a trademark infringement case, its first public comments on the matter since the judgment was handed down two weeks ago.
- Vulcan Energy Resources (-10.5%) — Pushed back construction at its flagship Lionheart lithium project in Germany to allow for potential additional funding from the country's government.
- Kelsian Group (4.3%) — Said it is exploring divestment options for a portfolio of Australian tourism assets to streamline its business and reduce debt.
- Emerald Resources (1.9%) — Made its final repayment under a $95 million debt facility for its Okvau gold mine in Cambodia, meaning it is now debt free.
What's ahead:
- Donald Trump is set to unveil new tariffs at a White House Rose Garden announcement, with no detail about the size and scope of new potential measures (Thursday 7am AEDT).
- The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release its monthly balance of trade figures for February (11:30am AEDT).
- The Reserve Bank will publish its half-yearly financial stability review, providing the central bank's assessment of the current resilience of the financial system and potential risks to financial stability (11:30am AEDT).
