ASX Large Caps: ASX tumbles as Graincorp sinks 12pc; Downer and AMP shine

ASX falls heavily after US CPI print higher than expected
Rates sensitive sectors, gold miners fell
CBA, Domain, Fletcher Bulding also dumped

The ASX 200 fell by around -1% on Wednesday, tracking the selloff on Wall Street overnight.

Stocks fell across the broad after the US January CPI unexpectedly came in at a higher rate than forecast.

Traders globally were unsettled after the US CPI print came in at 3.1%, the highest reading in 8 months, potentially crushing hopes of a near term Fed rate cut.

“The Fed will view this as another reason to wait until May or June, but the direction of trend is still lower,” said Charles Schwab’s chief fixed-income strategist, Kathy Jones.

On the ASX, Industrials was the only sector in the green today. All other sectors fell, led by rates sensitive sectors Tech and Real Estate.

Gold miners also came under pressure after gold price retreated by around 1% last night to below US$2k an ounce.

Among the advancers today were education company IDP Education, which said it was seeing record student growth during the half.

Across the region, China is still closed for Lunar New Year, but Japan shares fell, with the Yen sliding to 150.60 vs the USD.

This comes as swap traders decreased their bets for a Fed cut before July following the latest CPI release overnight.

BIG CAP WINNERS

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Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
DOW	Downer EDI Limited	4.87	12.99	5,006,496	$2,894,482,556
AMP	AMP Limited	1.08	11.60	34,761,547	$2,658,848,477
IEL	Idp Education Ltd	22.28	10.08	2,807,235	$5,633,524,911
MEZ	Meridian Energy	5.34	5.74	47,042	$6,393,676,573
SVW	Seven Group Holdings	38.08	4.76	1,069,027	$13,216,336,087
CPU	Computershare Ltd	26.20	4.55	1,138,164	$14,943,741,034
BGL	Bellevue Gold Ltd	1.39	4.32	9,193,767	$1,565,864,662
ERA	Energy Resources	0.06	3.57	96,906	$1,240,304,755
PSI	Psc Insurance Ltd	4.69	2.63	1,134,822	$1,666,329,994
TPW	Temple & Webster Ltd	11.29	2.54	2,329,243	$1,353,676,219
HSN	Hansen Technologies	5.45	1.97	178,720	$1,085,106,092
LTR	Liontown Resources	1.06	1.93	6,072,878	$2,508,062,221
AD8	Audinate Group Ltd	19.63	1.92	479,706	$1,600,676,181
AX1	Accent Group Ltd	2.36	1.72	1,142,093	$1,306,283,415
EBO	Ebos Group Ltd	34.43	1.70	15,866	$6,493,145,081
JHX	James Hardie Indust	54.95	1.40	761,524	$23,609,865,199

IDP Education (ASX:IEL) reported record revenue of $579 million for H1, up 15% on pcp, driven by strong student placement revenue growth of 44%. Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) was $107 million, up 23% on pcp. The company said it saw record student placement volumes of 57,300 during the half, up 33% on pcp.

Downer EDI (ASX:DOW) surged after underlying EBITA, which exclude significant items, rose 12.6% for the half to $150.5 million.

AMP (ASX:AMP) rose after reporting underlying NPAT growth of 6.5% vs pcp to $196million. Underlying earnings per share was 6.8cents for the period. Final dividend was 2.0 cents per share declared, with 20%franked. AMP has also appointed non-executive director and former Adelaide & Bendigo Bank (ASX: BEN) MD Mike Hirst as chairman, effective at the end of the 12 April AGM.

BIG CAP LOSERS

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Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
GNC	GrainCorp Limited	7.21	-12.18	3,188,925	$1,841,806,745
FBU	Fletcher Building	3.405	-7.97	4,132,056	$2,897,261,305
GUD	G.U.D. Holdings	11.08	-7.74	2,677,363	$1,692,145,299
CQE	Charter Hall Soc In	2.655	-5.52	554,823	$1,044,130,628
SEK	Seek Limited	24.23	-5.43	1,806,093	$9,126,361,268
360	Life360 Inc.	7.405	-4.82	347,009	$1,590,757,072
SQ2	Block	100.92	-4.80	60,029	$3,760,694,785
DHG	Domain Holdings Aus	3.32	-4.05	2,827,482	$2,185,533,749
LNW	Light & Wonder Inc.	130.695	-4.04	22,673	$2,116,351,463
CRN	Coronado Global Res	1.465	-3.93	1,606,349	$2,556,591,938
MCY	Mercury NZ Limited	6.2	-3.88	1,016	$8,973,415,692
NST	Northern Star	12.81	-3.76	1,587,445	$15,296,133,054
BPT	Beach Energy Limited	1.7575	-3.70	6,571,027	$4,163,433,922
JDO	Judo Cap Holdings	1.155	-3.35	843,455	$1,325,614,495
PRU	Perseus Mining Ltd	1.625	-3.27	4,782,623	$2,307,587,446
NEM	Newmont Corporation	49.73	-3.19	297,526	$8,740,930,004
BOQ	Bank of Queensland.	5.84	-3.15	2,201,773	$3,977,898,934

Graincorp (ASX:GNC) was the biggest large cap loser today, down 12% after flagging a big drop in earnings. GNC expects to report FY24 Underlying EBITDA in the range of $270–$310 million, down from $565 million in FY23. ) FY24 Underlying NPAT is expected to be between $65–$95 million, down from $250 million in FY23.

Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) fell after NPAT for H1 decreased by 8% on pcp to $4.837b. Net interest margin (NIM) decreased by 11 basis points to 1.99% due mainly to increased competition. The interim dividend declared was 2% higher at $2.15 per share, fully franked. The dividend payout ratio is 72% of cash NPAT.

Domain Holdings (ASX:DHG) delivered revenue of $202.2 million for the half year, up 11% on pcp. EBITDA was $68.4 million, up 32% on pcp. Domain expects EBITDA margin expansion in FY24, supported by improved listings.

GUD Holdings (ASX:GUD)’s underlying EBITA increased 11.6% vs pcp to $98 million. Statutory NPAT was $51.4 million, which increased by 19.5% vs pcp. The company reported interim dividend of 18.5 cents per share, an increase of 8.8% on the pcp.

Plumbing supplies business Fletcher Building (ASX:FBU) announced a net loss of NZ$120 million for the half, versus the previous half-year’s net profit of $92 million.The company has however denied that it has put its Iplex business up for sale, as reported by a certain media.