ASX finishes flat
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The news: The Australian sharemarket finished barely changed after early gains were trimmed back after the latest inflation figures came in slightly hotter than expected.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX 200 ended down 0.01% to 7,683, with seven out of 11 sectors finishing in red.
The worst performing sector was utilities, down 0.59%, followed by industrials (-0.55%) and IT (-0.35%). Cleanaway Waste Management was the worst ASX 200 performer, down 10.13%, after the company denied speculation around a possible takeover by Seven Group.
Across the wider ASX, the worst performer was Kogan (-26.46%) following the online retailer reported lower gross sales and revenues.
Investment manager Perpetual also fell, down 3.56%, after reporting heavy outflows of $5.2 billion during the March quarter.
Meanwhile, The Star Entertainment Group finished 3.01% lower as the NSW casino regulator’s inquiry stretched into an eighth day. Star’s ex-CEO Robbie Cooke fronted the hearing today and said he did not believe he was being non-cooperative with the regulator after messaging the chair David Foster to “get ready for war”.
Elsewhere, Neuren Pharmaceuticals ended 2.18% lower after reporting its quarterly earnings that said it expected a rise in royalty payments from higher sales of its Retts syndrome treatment drug.
The best performing sector was financials, up 0.35%, followed by consumer staples (0.29%) and energy (0.18%). All the big four banks gains with Westpac up 1%, followed by NAB (0.59%), CBA (0.5%), and ANZ (0.28%)
Fortescue also enjoyed gains, up 0.98%, after the miner maintained its full-year export guidance despite recording lower shipments. Regis Resources also finished higher (4.29%) after it also reaffirmed its guidance with analysts calling its quarterly results as a “good result”.
The Australian dollar is higher buying US65.11 cents.
The context: Thursday will see the latest US unemployment claims and quarterly GDP figures ahead of the country’s latest personal consumption expenditures index figures to be released on Friday. Meta and Boeing will also post quarterly earnings on Thursday.
On Friday, Alphabet, Microsoft and Snap will post earnings while the Bank of Japan will make its latest monetary policy decision.
