ASX ends higher after mixed session; Liontown jumps
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: The Australian sharemarket ended higher after a mixed session that saw strong gains and then a sharp sell-off before a moderate recovery as news filtered through on Donald Trump's plans for tariffs.
The benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.66% to end at 8,402.4, with seven out of 11 sectors finishing in green.
Biggest winners:
- Liontown Resources (11.91%) — The lithium miner said the ramp up of its flagship Kathleen Valley operation in Western Australia was running to schedule and its December quarter production tripled compared to the prior period.
- Hub24 (11.04%) — Reported growth in its funds under administration during the second quarter of FY25, driven by total platform net inflows of $5.5 billion.
- Yancoal (5.55%) — Reported a 10% rise in production and a 14% increase in sales year on year during 2024.
Other news:
- Perpetual (2.65%) — Citi analysts retained their ‘buy’ rating on the stock and said the company’s assets under management would benefit from a weak Australian dollar.
- South32 (1.99%) — Analysts were impressed by the miner’s production lift during the December quarter.
- Wesfarmers (1.59%) — Announced it would wind down its e-commerce retailer Catch during Q4 with its fulfilment centres to be transferred to Kmart. Meanwhile, competitor Kogan (5.53%) jumped on the news.
- Northern Star Resources (1.59%) — Flagged that it is on track to achieve its full-year sales and cost guidance after a strong second quarter performance.
- BHP (0.92%) — Reported a mixed second-quarter result, boosted by better-than-expected copper production during the period.
- Computershare (-1.05%) — Citi downgraded its rating on the stock from 'buy' to 'neutral' as it does not see a material advancement in the stock’s price after a recent rally.
- Novonix (-5.39%) — Announced that its chief executive Chris Burns will step down from his role on 24 January but will continue as a special adviser to the board.
The Australian dollar is buying 62.41 US cents. The Aussie dollar rallied overnight after markets learned that Trump would not immediately impose trade tariffs after taking office.
However, during the day Trump flagged that tariffs on Mexico and Canada could come into effect as soon as 1 February which led to a rise in the US dollar and a corresponding retreat in a number of currencies including the Australian dollar.
What’s ahead: Netflix will post its latest earnings on Wednesday morning (AEDT).
