• The ASX gained 0.1% on Thursday ahead of US CPI data tonight
  • Coal stocks gained, while most Asian markets finished lower
  • Fashion retailer Cettire up by more than 20pc on strong FY23 results

 

Local shares climbed modestly by 0.1% on Thursday, driven by coal stocks.

The likes of Yancoal (ASX:YAN) and Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) were 5% higher as coal prices kept climbing today.

The front end benchmark Newcastle coal futures is currently trading at US$148,25, which is 3% higher from the previous day.

Oil stocks also rallied as crude prices rose 1.5% last night to the highest level this year.

Traders are concerned about a possible escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war, which has entered into its 533rd day as of today.

Meanwhile, potential worker strikes at major LNG gas facilities in Australia could disrupt 10% of global exports.

The strikes planned at  Chevron Corp and Woodside Energy (ASX:WDS) could begin as soon as next week. The price of European natural gas jumped last night by as much as 40%.

Elsewhere, Asian stock markets were mostly down today ahead of the US inflation reading tonight.

Wall Street consensus has the headline CPI index rising by 0.2% for July, and a 12-month rate of 3.3%.

“We can feel confident that inflation is moving in the right direction,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.

“But I don’t think we should be overly confident.”

 

BIG CAP WINNERS

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Cettire (ASX:CTT) was the best performer today, up by 21% after reporting a strong FY23.

Cettire’s sales revenue was up 98% on pcp to $416.2 million, while Adjusted EBITDA was $29.3 million, up from a loss of $21.5 million in the pcp.

“FY23 has been another year of tremendous growth and transformation for Cettire,” said CEO and founder, Dean Mintz.

“Through strong execution against our strategy to maximise profitable revenue growth, Cettire grew rapidly whilst also delivering significant profitability and cash generation.”

AMP (ASX:AMP) rose 4% after reporting half-year profit of $112 million, which was flat vs the pcp. The company’s Advice business bettered its losses during the half, with NPAT loss of $25 million improving by $5 million vs the pcp.

Insurance brokers network AUB Group (ASX:AUB) jumped 6% after announcing an underlying NPAT for FY23 of approximately $129 million, which is 5.7% above the mid-point of its FY23 guidance range.

Buildings product group Boral (ASX:BLD) surged 8% after reporting a 38% lift on EBITDA. The BLD stock price has risen by more than 80% since turnaround expert Vik Bansal became CEO in June 2022.

 

BIG CAP LOSERS

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AGL Energy (ASX:AGL) fell over 4% today after declaring a loss of $1.26 billion for the full year, due mainly to previously flagged write-downs.

QBE Insurance (ASX:QBE) dropped almost 2% after the insurer reported a 13% growth in written premiums for the half year, and paid 14c interim dividends.