ASX flat as WiseTech surges

The news: The Australian sharemarket ended flat after a mixed session that saw a strong rally in WiseTech shares after its chief executive Richard White stood down from the role following a series of media reports on his alleged inappropriate behaviour.

The numbers: The benchmark ASX 200 gained 0.06% to end at 8,211.3 with six out of 11 sectors finishing in green. IT was by far the best performing sector, up 3.34%.

The biggest movers across the ASX 200 today were:

• WiseTech (12.7%) — Citi analysts upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ on the White news, but downgraded its price target, along with Morningstar which lowered its fair value estimate. White also resigned from his role as a board member of the Tech Council of Australia;
• HMC Capital (12.49%) — Completed its $300 million capital raise to underwrite its $1.93 billion data centre acquisition, and had Morgan Stanley upgrade its price target; and
• Newmont (-13.06%) — Citi analysts said that Newmont's cost performance during the quarter was "disappointing”.

Quarterly results included:

• ResMed (5.92%) — Posted an 11% rise in first-quarter revenue which Jarden analysts called a “great result”;
• Whitehaven (4.98%) — Reiterated its full-year guidance after a mixed September quarter;
• Aussie Broadband (3.18%) — Reaffirmed its full-year earnings guidance after a strong first quarter performance;
• Qantas (1.52%) — Avoided a second strike of its remuneration report at its annual general meeting, trimmed its fuel cost estimate for Q1, and lifted its domestic revenue growth forecast;
• Cleanaway (-0.7%) — Stayed firm on its full-year earnings guidance despite a challenging operating environment driven by softer economic activity;
• DroneShield (-1.6%) — Posted a downturn in revenue during the nine months to 30 September ($31.1 million) compared to the same period in 2023 ($39 million); and
• Metcash (-3.33%) — Flagged a lower first-half underlying profit amid softening sales and margin pressure in the hardware segment.