ASX ends lower; CBA, Westpac stumble
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The news: The Australian sharemarket ended lower despite a rally from miners as all other sectors dropped.
The ASX 200 fell 0.42% to end at 8,294.1, with 10 out of 11 sectors finishing in red.
Biggest movers:
- The Star Entertainment (-15.39%) — Morningstar analysts have cut the company’s valuation by 60% after the embattled casino operator revealed it only had $79 million in available cash.
- Financials sector (-1.17%) — Commonwealth Bank (-1.73%), Westpac (-1.69%), NAB (1.07%) and ANZ (-0.27%) all fell as Morgan Stanley outlined a bearish outlook on the Australian banking sector. It also downgraded Westpac due to likely lower mortgage growth and potentially higher-than-forecast expense growth.
- Materials sector (0.96%) — Iron ore futures continued to extend gains seen overnight after China’s latest stimulus measures and accelerated purchases by steel mills. Rio Tinto (2.22%), BHP (1.04%), and BlueScope Steel (1.63%) all rallied.
Other news:
- Novonix (-2.06%) — Announced it had signed a licensing agreement with long-time partner Harper International for graphitisation furnace technology.
- Light & Wonder (-0.08%) — Has internally appointed Simon Johnson as the new CEO of its iGaming business.
- Insignia Financial (1.98%) — Confirmed that it has not received a takeover proposal from Brookfield, after a media report claimed the investment giant was considering a bid.
The Australian dollar is buying 61.95 US cents. Overnight, the Aussie tumbled to its lowest level against the US dollar in more than two years as the greenback continued to advance on concerns over tariffs under the incoming Trump administration.
What’s ahead: Later tonight and into the weekend will see the US Supreme Court hear arguments in a court case that could ban or force a sale of TikTok.
Australia’s latest labour force data will be in focus next week and could signal which direction the Reserve Bank will take at its next monetary policy meeting in February.
