ASX falls but MinRes rallies on $1.1b deal
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The news: While the wider Australian sharemarket fell, Mineral Resources rallied as investors cheered its $1.1 billion deal with Hancock Prospecting.
The benchmark ASX 200 dropped 0.25% to end at 8,160, with eight out of 11 sectors finishing in red.
Biggest movers:
- Mineral Resources (9.2%) — Has agreed to sell two oil and gas exploration permits in the Perth Basin to Gina Rhinehart’s Hancock Prospecting for $1.1 billion.
- Corporate Travel (4.73%) — Flagged that its UK revenue growth guidance was a risk but revenue from the rest of the world would grow during FY25.
- Nickel Industrials (-6.22%) — Macquarie analysts cut their earnings forecast on the company after it posted softer-than-expected earnings for the September quarter.
Other news:
- Star Entertainment (-5.88%) — Morningstar slashed its fair value estimate on the company and halved its full-year earnings forecast after the casino operator posted an EBITDA loss of $18 million for Q1.
- Woodside (-0.63%) — Completed the sale of a 15.1% interest in the Scarborough LNG joint venture to Japan's largest power generation company JERA.
- IGO (-0.38%) — The cost for its Greenbushes project joint venture has increased and has pushed out first ore expectations to Q2 of FY26.
- Pacific Current (2.05%) — Reported a 2.2% decrease in funds under management during the September quarter to $41.5 billion.
Quarterly earnings:
- JB Hi-Fi (5.29%) — Posted stronger-than-expected first quarter sales growth of 5%.
- Helia (1.75%) — Reported a drop in third-quarter profit due to a lower level of housing loans written.
- Origin Energy (1.37%) — Reported a rise in revenue during the September quarter as the average price for liquified natural gas climbed.
- Champion Iron (-0.51%) — Posted a decline in earnings for Q2 as its average selling price fell.
- AUB Group (0.53%) — Reaffirmed its full-year net profit guidance of between $190 million and $200 million.
- Wesfarmers (-0.53%) — CEO Rob Scott warned investors of cost-of-living pressures that would impact the business and did not comment on sales growth rates at the company’s AGM.
- SkyCity (-0.8%) — Reiterated its full-year earnings guidance, but said it expects "subdued" consumer discretionary spend during FY25.
- Coles (-0.62%) — Lifted its Q1 revenue but warned that cost-of-living pressures remained a challenge.
- BSP Financial (-1.75%) — Papua New Guinea's largest bank reported a 24% fall in unaudited profit during the September quarter.
The Australian dollar is buying 65.73 US cents.
What’s ahead: Tonight will see the latest US personal consumption expenditure index, employment cost and unemployment claim figures published.
Friday events include:
- US earnings AM: Uber, Amazon, Apple and Intel.
- Quarterly earnings: Macquarie.
- AGMs: Steadfast, Spark, Austal and Integral Diagnostics.
