ASX gains as it breaks three-day losing streak
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The news: The Australian sharemarket has closed higher, ending its three-day losing streak, as consumer discretionary stocks rallied.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX 200 gained 0.95% to end at 8,203.7, with 10 out of 11 sectors finishing in the green.
The best performing sector was consumer discretionary, up 2.01%, followed by IT (1.97%).
Brickworks was the best performing stock across the ASX 200 as it jumped 7.56% despite swinging to a statutory loss in FY24. It also announced that it planned to temporarily close plants due to subdued building activity.
TPG gained 5.38% after announcing that a proposed arrangement with telco rival Vocus Group over the possible sale of its fibre network remained "under discussion" following media speculation.
Light & Wonder shares rose 3.92%, after a two-day slump, as analysts downplayed a US court injunction restricting it from manufacturing and selling new Dragon Train poker machines.
REA Group shares increased 3.34% after it acquired a 19.9% stake in non-bank digital lender Athena Home Loans for up to $62 million.
Sigma Healthcare gained 3.1% after analysts upgraded price targets for the company after it reported better-than-expected revenues from its contract with Chemist Warehouse.
Washington H Soul Pattinson shares lifted 2.41% after reporting a boost in portfolio value in the 2024 financial year, but a slide in full-year profit.
Platinum gained back earlier losses to rise 0.44% while Regal increased 1.42% after the former rejected a takeover bid by the latter as it “undervalued” the company.
Hub24 shares gained 0.86% after it announced a strategic alliance with Reach Alternative Investments, as well as taking a minority equity holding in the company.
Lendlease ended 0.28% higher while Stockland gained 0.19% after the competition regulator cleared Stockland’s $1.3 billion acquisition of 12 residential communities projects from Lendlease.
Elsewhere, SkyCity jumped 11.55% after the High Court of New Zealand imposed a civil penalty of NZD4.16 million ($3.81 million) on the company for historic breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing rules.
The worst performing sector was energy, down 1.1%, followed by financials (0.19%). Woodside (-2.96%) and Santos (-2.26%) both fell.
The Australian dollar is buying 68.61 US cents.
The context: Tonight will see the latest US GDP and unemployment data released while the US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell address the US Treasury Market Conference.
