ASX ends lower as US-Iran conflict flares up
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The news: The Australian sharemarket ended lower as conflict between Iran and the US near the Strait of Hormuz flared up as US President Donald Trump demanded his adversaries signed a proposed peace deal.
The benchmark ASX 200 index fell 1.51% to 8,744.4, with 10 of the 11 sectoral indices in negative territory.
Biggest movers:
- Tabcorp (-14.2%) — Extended its selloff from Thursday after AUSTRAC launched an enforcement investigation into the company’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing compliance.
- Light & Wonder (+11.7%) — Rebounded after sliding on Thursday following softer-than-expected first quarter results.
Executive moves:
- Cleanaway Waste Management (0%) — Announced the retirement of chair Philippe Etienne, and named current board director Samantha Hogg chair-elect.
- Perseus Mining (-0.9%) — Appointed Wade Bickley as its new chief operating officer, effective 1 June, based in the company’s Dubai office.
Other news:
- Fletcher Building (-2.5%) — Said its subsidiary Laminex AU will sell its Melbourne-based property to Forza Capital for $53.8 million.
- QBE Insurance (-1.6%) — Recorded gross written premium growth of 11% year on year to reach $9.2 billion.
- Macquarie Group (-1.1%) — Delivered a 30% leap in full-year net profit to $4.85 billion, its second highest result, as the global financial conglomerate bounced back in volatile market conditions.
- Block (+4.8%) — Lifted its full-year adjusted operating income guidance to USD3.34 billion ($4.63 billion), representing 60% year-on-year growth.
- News Corp (+2.6%) — Posted a 13% increase in its third-quarter net income, with CEO Robert Thomson declaring the company is on track for “another year of record profitability”.
- REA Group (+1.4%) — Reported an 11% increase in third-quarter EBITDA to $216 million, driven by strong performance across its Australian residential and commercial businesses.
What’s ahead:
- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics will release unemployment rate, non-farm employment change and average hourly earnings data for April at 10:30pm AEST.
- Statistics Canada will release unemployment rate and employment change data for April at 10:30pm AEST.
- Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey will speak at a fireside chat about global imbalances at the central bank’s agenda for research conference at 10:20pm AEST.
- The National Bureau of Statistics of China will release consumer price index and producer price index data for April on Monday at 11:30am AEST.
