ASX ends higher ahead of inflation figures

The news: The Australian sharemarket ended higher, tracking Wall Street gains, ahead of the latest inflation figures to be released next week.

The benchmark ASX 200 gained 0.36% to end at 8,408.9, with nine out 11 sectors finishing in green.

Biggest movers:

• Premier Investments (6.59%) — Reversed Thursday’s losses after its shareholders along with Myer (up 2.6%) shareholders voted in favour for the department store chain's acquisition of Premier’s apparel brands business.
• Monadelphous (5.83%) — Flagged that it is expecting profit after tax for the six months to 31 December to exceed consensus forecasts after a $7 million variance in non-operating items.
• Kogan (-15.22%) — Missed EBITDA expectations and warned that profit from its Mighty Ape business was adversely impacted by technical issues during last year’s peak sales period.
• Regis Resources (-6.23%), Westgold Resources (-4.73%) — Both gold miners received downgrades by Canaccord Genuity.

Other news:

• Synlait Milk (22.22%) — Flagged that it expects a return to profitability in the first half of this financial year and announced a higher payment to South Island farmers to secure milk supply.
• KMD Brands (4%) — Announced a slide in half-year earnings as weaker trading, particularly in its wholesale business, continues to weigh.
• Wesfarmers (3.24%) — Goldman Sachs analysts upgraded their rating on the company to ‘buy’, citing new drivers of growth that will drive earnings and valuation at the conglomerate.
• IGO (0.77%) — Confirmed that all work and activity will be terminated at a plant at its part-owned Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery in Western Australia.
• Clarity Pharmaceuticals (0.99%) — Received a second fast track designation from the US Food and Drug Administration for its prostate cancer imaging agent.
• Rio Tinto (0.28%) — Warned that record rain in WA flooded a port facility and temporarily halted iron ore shipments but analysts expect shipments to be made up in the second half.
• Energy sector (-1.16%) — Worst performing sector as Woodside Energy (-1.88%), Beach Energy (-0.99%), Ampol (-0.71%), Karoon Energy (-0.36%), and Santos (-0.14%) all fell. US President Donald Trump pressured the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to lower oil prices in a bid to drive up crude production.