• The ASX 200 index finished flat on Thursday
  • Miners lifted on earnings while banks lagged
  • The RBA is under fire after a review report was released by Treasurer Chalmers

 

Aussie shares finished flat again on Thursday as earnings updates rolled in.

Miners were the biggest losers today, with the sector down 2%, while Financials and Discretionary gained 1% each.

Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) grabbed headlines early in the morning as the iron ore miner delivered its best first quarter for iron ore shipments, exporting 82.5Mt of the good stuff as China’s steelmaking machine ramped up demand after the end of its Covid lockdowns.

The mining giant has given itself a head start in 2023, with first quarter shipments up 16% on the same period in 2022 (though down 6% on the December quarter).

The Rio share price, however, dropped over 2%.

Now read Rio Tinto Results: A ripping start to 2023 from iron ore’s great procrastinator

Alliance Aviation Services (ASX:AQZ) plunged 8% and Qantas (ASX:QAN) was flat after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it will not approve QAN’s proposed acquisition of AQZ.

 

RBA under fire

A 294-page formal review into the Reserve Bank titled “An RBA Fit For The Future” was released today, recommending that the RBA be remade into an institution that more closely resembles other advanced-economy central banks.

Under the proposals released by Treasurer Dr. Jim Chalmers, the report also recommended handing the interest rates setting decision to a new, separate Monetary Policy Board, as well as calling for fewer interest rates meetings.

“Australia faces a complex and rapidly changing environment, and we need the most effective central bank and monetary policy framework to meet current and future economic challenges,” Dr Chalmers said.

 

Tesla to focus on growth not profit

Elon Musk told analysts in an earnings call today that Tesla would prioritise sales growth ahead of profit in a weak economy.

“It’s better to shift a large number of cars at lower margin and harvest that margin in the future as we perfect autonomy,” he said.

Tesla has slashed its prices several times in the US and China since late last year, resulting in the collapse of its profit margins to 11.4% in Q1.

Closer to home, India has officially overtaken China as the most populous country in the world, according to the UN. India’s population has surpassed 1.4286 billion , slightly higher than China’s 1.4257 billion people.

China’s central bank has meanwhile kept its rates unchanged, suggesting that Beijing is comfortable with the pace of the country’s economic recovery driven by domestic consumption.

Looking ahead in the US, weekly new unemployment claims are due tonight, together with the March existing home sales.

In Europe, the European Central Bank (ECB) is scheduled to publish its March monetary policy meeting minutes.

 

BIG CAP WINNERS

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Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap
TLX Telix Pharmaceutical 9.94 6.03 2,922,722 $2,974,241,432
CDA Codan Limited 6.85 5.31 630,618 $1,177,592,611
VUK Virgin Money Uk PLC 2.96 4.59 1,558,121 $1,999,635,114
LOV Lovisa Holdings Ltd 26.22 4.05 166,462 $2,717,362,948
IEL Idp Education Ltd 28.31 3.97 592,080 $7,579,095,026
GQG GQG Partners 1.48 3.14 1,674,382 $4,237,275,798
EMR Emerald Res NL 1.82 3.12 1,262,037 $1,048,058,735
VSL Vulcan Steel 8.02 3.08 47,020 $1,022,358,690
LNK Link Admin Hldg 2.15 2.87 4,761,926 $1,072,143,835
DMP Domino Pizza Enterpr 52.36 2.85 368,355 $4,535,592,366
MFG Magellan Fin Grp Ltd 8.01 2.82 738,897 $1,413,572,489
PTM Platinum Asset 1.78 2.75 597,814 $1,014,954,497
CRN Coronado Global Res 1.68 2.60 2,505,964 $2,741,001,849
MAQ Macquarie Telecom 61.45 2.42 8,516 $1,293,916,620
STX Strike Energy Ltd 0.46 2.25 3,559,494 $1,117,329,015
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Strike Energy (ASX:STX) was up 1% after announcing that it has completed initial engineering with Technip Energies for a low cost, fast to market modular and expandable gas plant to be located on Strike’s Mid West Low Carbon Manufacturing Precinct, with targeted commissioning via the 100% owned South Erregulla gas field in late 2024.

Link Administrations (ASX:LNK) was up almost 3% after saying that it has reached a conditional agreement for the sale of its FS business to the Waystone Group for an aggregate consideration value of between £110 million and £140 million.

 

BIG CAP LOSERS

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Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap
WBT Weebit Nano Ltd 5.03 -10.1786 1,066,061 $1,022,979,541
CMM Capricorn Metals 4.38 -7.7895 936,681 $1,784,851,331
MIN Mineral Resources. 80.17 -4.9104 730,837 $16,264,671,575
AKE Allkem Limited 11.705 -4.6824 4,584,924 $7,830,441,296
MCY Mercury NZ Limited 5.61 -3.9384 840 $8,098,870,419
PLS Pilbara Min Ltd 3.93 -3.912 29,668,078 $12,261,875,293
CGF Challenger Limited 6.28 -3.8285 2,097,993 $4,490,119,165
NST Northern Star 13.72 -3.584 5,400,333 $16,363,723,896
IGO IGO Limited 13.95 -3.4602 2,414,437 $10,942,519,898
NEU Neuren Pharmaceut. 13.69 -3.1825 164,088 $1,789,638,659
LYC Lynas Rare Earths 6.545 -3.1805 3,611,664 $6,312,592,625
CXO Core Lithium 0.9875 -2.7094 12,179,415 $1,886,394,546
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Lithium miner Allkem (ASX:AKE) fell 4% after it provided an update on its global lithium portfolio, business activities and financial position for the quarter.

Highlights include a 38% increase in the production of lithium carbonate to of 4,102 tonnes, and a new record for a March quarter.

Allkem also said its lithium carbonate sales were 2,904 tonnes, generating record Olaroz quarterly revenue of ~US$159 million with a record gross cash margin of 91% or US$47,814/tonne.

Challenger Ltd (ASX:CGF) fell 3.5% after reporting group assets under management (AUM) of $102 billion at the end of Q3, up 2% from the last quarter.

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