ASX subdued as BOQ rallies
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The news: All sectors except financials fell on the Australian sharemarket, tracking losses from Wall Street.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX 200 dropped 0.41% to end at 8,284.7, with 10 out of 11 sectors finishing in red.
Financials, up 0.27%, was the best-performing sector. The standout was Bank of Queensland, which rose 6.54% after posting better-than-expected full-year results. Chief executive Patrick Allaway told Capital Brief the bank was making steady progress in simplifying its business model and becoming more digital and sustainable.
On the other hand, Challenger (-3.96%) posted a 14% reduction in annuity sales during the September quarter due to rising term pricing and an inverted yield curve.
Evolution Mining (6.29%) led a surge by gold miners, after reporting better-than-expected gold production in the September quarter.
However, uranium miners Deep Yellow (-4.01%), Boss Energy (3.92%) and Paladin Energy (-2.48%) all fell as the world's largest uranium miner Kazatomprom struck a deal with China's CNNC Overseas and China National Uranium Corporation (CNUC) on the sale of natural uranium concentrates.
Companies that reported quarterly results included:
- Woodside (0.89%) — Third-quarter production rose 20% due to a ramp-up at its Sangomar facility in Senegal. The company also announced it would delist from the London Stock Exchange due to low trading volumes.
- Rio (-1.43%) — Its September quarter production disappointed analysts who were also concerned with the miners’ Pilbara operations expenditure guidance; and
- Bapcor (-2.31%) — The auto parts supplier posted a sales slump over the last eight weeks but analysts were positive on its cost-cutting program.
In other news:
- Monadelphous (-3.03%) — Was awarded contracts and extensions worth $160 million;
- Pro Medicus (-2.2%) — Signed a $32 million contract extension;
- SkyCity (-2.65%) — Was ordered to pay $13.1 million in casino duty after a High Court ruling; and
- Energy Resources Australia (-11.11%) — Resumed its $880 million capital raise after being stalled by Takeovers Panel proceedings.
The Australian dollar is buying 66.91 US cents.
What’s ahead: Thursday’s events include:
- Economic data: Labour force;
- AGMs: Auckland Airport, ARB Corp, Perpetual, and Treasury Wines; and
- Quarterly results: Santos, BHP, and Yan Coal.
