ASX opens higher as lithium stocks soar; Iress, JB Hi-Fi lower after earnings
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More news: Australian shares opened higher as lithium stocks rocketed in early trading. Software provider Iress and electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi were among the worst performers on the ASX 200 after reporting earnings this morning.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 28.6 points, or 0.33%, to 8,835.7 at 10:30am AEST. Eight of the 11 sectoral indices were in positive territory.
Lithium miners Liontown Resources (+18%), Pilbara Minerals (+16.6%), IGO (+11.8%) and Mineral Resources (10.1%) were the four top performers on the ASX 200. The rally came as Bloomberg reported that China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co has suspended production at its Jianxiawo lithium mine for at least three months.
HMC Capital's DigiCo Infrastructure REIT, up 9.4%, was the next best performer, after confirming that its SYD1 data centre has been named by the federal government as a "certified strategic" hosting provider of data centre services.
Meanwhile, Afterpay owner Block led losses, tumbling 9.5%. Iress fell 7.3% after reporting a flat first-half profit and a slide in adjusted earnings. JB Hi-Fi was down 2.5% after announcing the departure of CEO Terry Smart, and reporting lower-than-expected full-year net profit after tax.
Australian shares to edge up ahead of RBA call, earnings results
The news: Australian shares are set to open marginally higher this morning after US stocks climbed on Friday, as investors look ahead to a busy week of earnings results and the latest decision on interest rates by the Reserve Bank on Tuesday.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: up 5 points, or 0.05%, to 8,768 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.47%, S&P 500 up 0.78% and Nasdaq up 0.98%
- Europe: CAC 40 up 0.44%, DAX down 0.12% and FTSE 100 down 0.06%
- Spot gold: up 0.04% to USD3,398 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 0.41% to USD66.32/bbl and US WTI down 0.83% to USD63.35/bbl
- AUD: up 0.04% to 65.24 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 0.02% to USD118,341.
The context: The RBA is expected to cut the cash rate on Tuesday, which would mark the third cut this year. Analysts predict the central bank will lower the rate by 25 basis points to 3.6%.
Meanwhile, earnings season moves into full flow this week, with electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi, vehicle marketplace Car Group, and financial services software provider Iress all due to release financial results this morning. Market giants Commonwealth Bank, Telstra, Suncorp Group, Pro Medicus, Origin Energy, Cochlear and IAG are all due to report later in the week.
