ASX flat as GQG plunges

The news: The Australian sharemarket ended flat, with the benchmark ASX 200 edging 0.04% lower to end at 8,323. Eight out of 11 sectors finished in red.

Biggest news:

• GQG (-19.32%) — GQG is reviewing its investments in Adani Group after US prosecutors charged the company’s chair Gautam Adani over an alleged USD250 million ($383.6 million) bribery scheme.
• Mineral Resources (-2.51%) — Founder Chris Ellison told its AGM that “I hate what I’ve done” in regards to his involvement in an alleged tax evasion scheme. The company also received a strike on its remuneration report.

Other news:

• Sayona (-10.53%) and Piedmont (-13.51%) — Sayona received commitments for a $40 million equity raising to support an all-stock merger with Piedmont. The offer price was an 8.7% discount to the five-day average share price.
• Web Travel Group (-4.22%) and Webjet Group (0.6%) — Web Travel reported a list of backdated changes to its FY23 and FY24 results, as well as an increase to its first-half EBITDA.
• News Corp (0.39%) — Jarden hiked its target price on the company but cropped its full-year EBITDA forecast. At its AGM today, the company fended off a proposal from activist hedge fund Starboard Value to loosen the Murdoch family’s grip on the company by eliminating its dual-class share structure.
• HMC Capital (1.36%) — Increased the initial public offer size by $100 million to $2.75 billion for its Digital Infrastructure REIT following demand from investors.
• Pinnacle Investment Management (3.17%) — Completed a $400 million equity raising a day after announcing two strategic acquisitions.
• PWR Holdings (11.83%) — Bell Potter and Citi analysts upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ after a major sell-off on Wednesday.

Earnings:

• Accent Group (-11.07%) — The fashion retailer saw its gross margin trimmed at the start of FY25.
• Qube (-1.27%) — Reaffirmed its outlook for full-year profit but noted that it expected growth to be modest in FY25.
• Worley (-1.13%) — Reaffirmed its outlook for earnings growth in FY25, and said the second half of the fiscal year is likely to be stronger than the first half.
• Regis Resources (0.76%) — Reiterated its full-year guidance and said it was continuing to consider options following an environmental protection declaration by the federal government in August that effectively blocked development of its McPhillamys gold project.