Supermarkets and big banks lead gains as ASX ends higher
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The news: The Australian sharemarket closed higher for the fifth straight session, briefly topping the 8,000 mark for the first time in two weeks amid expectations that Labor's federal budget will not impact the Reserve Bank's monetary easing path.
Consumer staples (1.2%) ended as the best performing sector, with supermarket giants Woolworths (1.7%) and Coles (1.5%) both advancing. The financial sector (1.1%) also rose as each of the big four lenders notched sizeable gains.
Elsewhere, gold miners Ramelius Resources and Spartan Resources ended as two of the top performing ASX 200 stocks after Macquarie talked up the benefits of their impending merger.
The ASX 200 closed 0.71% higher at 7,999, with 10 out of 11 sectors finishing in green.
Biggest ASX 200 movers:
- Ramelius Resources (6.1%) — Macquarie upgraded the gold miner following its $2.4 billion deal to acquire smaller rival Spartan Resources (5%).
- Paladin Energy (-11.6%) — Withdrew its full-year guidance following a "one-in-fifty-year" rainfall event that disrupted operations at its Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia last week. Rivals Deep Yellow (-4.5%) and Boss Energy (-4%) also dropped.
Other news:
- Helia Group (5.2%) — Upgraded by Macquarie to 'neutral', after Friday's 25% selloff left its shares better valued.
- Worley (-2.3%) — Announced the retirement of its chief financial officer Tiernan O'Rourke.
- Vulcan Energy (12.8%) — The European Commission identified its Lionheart lithium project in Germany as a "strategic project" under the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act.
- Bellevue Gold (halted) — Entered a trading halt as it reviews production from its flagship Bellevue Gold project, warning of a possible downgrade to its full-year guidance.
- KMD Brands (-7.5%) — Widened its half-year loss as continued weaker trading in its wholesale business weighed on margins.
- Tuas (-7.5%) — Swung to its maiden first-half profit, improving from a full-year loss, on the back of a growing subscriber base in Singapore.
- FleetPartners (-0.7%) — Expects to see a 20% decline in first-half new business writings after switching to a single operating system during the half.
The Australian dollar is buying 63.1 US cents.
