ASX ends lower as Wesfarmers and MinRes disappoint
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The news: The Australian sharemarket ended lower today as earnings by ASX majors Wesfarmers and Mineral Resources disappointed investors.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX 200 closed 0.33% lower at 8,045.1, with 7 out of 11 sectors finishing in the red.
The worst performing sector was energy, down 2.12%, followed by consumer discretionary (-1.88%)
Wesfarmers fell 4.24% after the Bunnings and Kmart owner posted a softer trading update for FY25.
Mineral Resources tumbled 7.92% as the mining explorer reported an 80% fall in annual profit and scrapped its dividend for the first time in more than a decade.
Cettire dived 18.8% having suffered a sharp profit contraction after resorting to discounting in a soft luxury market. The luxury ecommerce platform also delivered a late and unusual earnings call.
Red 5 was the worst performing stock across the ASX 200, shedding 13.01% after the gold miner's FY25 guidance fell short of analysts' expectations.
Webjet fell 5.69% after the travel bookings provider delivered a softer-than-expected trading update for both its B2B and B2C businesses.
Perpetual dropped 4.02% following a swing to a statutory loss in FY24, while the investment manager also announced the retirement of its long-time chairman Tony D'Aloisio.
Atlas Arteria lowered 0.98% as the toll road operator posted a drop in half-year profit on the back of lower traffic as well as higher taxes and costs.
Sandfire Resources lost 3.06% after the copper and nickel miner recorded a miss to production guidance.
The best performing sector was financial, up 0.37%, followed by information technology (0.16%).
Bega Cheese was the best performing stock across the ASX 200, having added 8.92% after the dairy producer swung to a statutory profit in the 2024 financial year.
IDP Education gained 2.77% after beating full-year profit forecasts, boosted by double-digit growth in its student placement business, while Southern Cross Austereo climbed 3.77% despite reporting a 49% profit slide.
Miners South32 (0.32%) and IGO (1.52%) both edged higher, as South32 unveiled a $295 million share buyback and IGO's dividend sailed past estimates.
Qantas eked out a slight afternoon jump, ending up 0.79% despite reporting a 28% drop in full-year profit.
The Australian dollar is buying 68.03 US cents.
The context: Before trading resumes on the ASX on Friday morning, market watchers will monitor new consumer prices data due for release in Japan and eurozone countries, as well as quarterly GDP data in the US.
In the local market, Appen, Downer EDI, Ramsay Healthcare, The Star, TPG Telecom and Dicker Data are scheduled to report on Friday morning.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will also publish monthly retail sales figures at 11:30am AEST. As the primary gauge of Australia's consumer spending, the new data is likely to impact the Reserve Bank's thinking around interest rates.
