ASX Large Caps: Shares up despite a swag of not so good data, Fed decision at 5am tomorrow

ASX closed 0.8pc higher on Wednesday
A swag of reports were released today including building approvals
Fed is in focus, with rates decision due at 5am AEDT tomorrow

The Australian stock market opened the month of November with a 0.8% rise on Wednesday. The ASX tracked major European, UK and US equities markets, which mostly closed higher overnight.

Stocks rose against a backdrop of more reports of humanitarian horror in the Israel-Hamas conflict, as well as the looming US Fed’s rates decision, which will be handed down at 5am AEDT tomorrow.

There was a swag of domestic reports released today, including September dwelling approvals, which fell 4.6% in September after rising for the first time since May in the previous month.

The ABS also released a September living costs indices report, which shows that living costs for employee households rose 2% in the September 2023 quarter, higher than the 1.5% rise in the June quarter.

In other data, Australia’s manufacturing sector further contracted at the start of Q4, according to Judo Bank PMI report.

On the ASX, the only sector in the red today was Utilities, while the best performers were Real Estate, Mining and Healthcare.

AGMs were held today for BHP, Domino’s Pizza, Megaport, Sims and Vicinity.

Elsewhere in the region, Asian stocks mainly gained.

The Japanese Yen strengthened from near its weakest level this year after its forex chief said he was ready for intervention.

Meanwhile, China’s manufacturing activity unexpectedly shrank in October, signalling a loss in the country’s economic momentum.

BIG CAP WINNERS

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Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
PDN	Paladin Energy Ltd	1.02	7.41	21,633,890	$2,819,289,879
MAD	Mader Group Limited	6.76	7.22	130,744	$1,260,000,000
BOE	Boss Energy Ltd	4.53	4.86	2,017,495	$1,524,672,996
TAH	TABCORP	0.81	4.52	3,724,306	$1,768,868,516
AD8	Audinate Group Ltd	13.09	4.51	77,757	$1,040,522,627
RMD	ResMed Inc.	22.71	4.22	1,562,136	$11,294,327,026
NIC	Nickel Industries	0.78	4.03	4,261,888	$3,192,928,361
PME	Pro Medicus Limited	77.33	3.74	158,099	$7,786,096,497
AZS	Azure Minerals	3.62	3.72	7,890,472	$1,555,717,697
SQ2	Block	62.93	3.66	76,585	$1,996,366,088
WPR	Waypoint REIT	2.19	3.30	718,625	$1,424,251,080
CIA	Champion Iron Ltd	7.35	3.23	1,069,761	$3,683,145,633
CHC	Charter Hall Group	8.95	3.23	555,265	$4,100,885,715
LOV	Lovisa Holdings Ltd	17.87	3.18	184,842	$1,899,876,507
ARF	Arena REIT.	3.27	3.15	225,682	$1,117,589,529

Packaging solutions company Amcor (ASX:AMC) rose 2% after delivering results in line with expectations for Q1. The company reported net sales of $3,443 million for the quarter. GAAP Net income was $152 million, while GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) was 10.5 cps.

BIG CAP LOSERS

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Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
CEN	Contact Energy Ltd	7.16	-7.13	1,850	$1,962,551,464
RED	Red 5 Limited	0.30	-5.47	3,316,973	$1,107,900,560
NHC	New Hope Corporation	5.51	-4.51	4,036,820	$4,877,585,627
AKE	Allkem Limited	9.22	-3.35	2,302,108	$6,099,125,135
BGL	Bellevue Gold Ltd	1.40	-2.94	2,991,640	$1,660,313,043
GMD	Genesis Minerals	1.42	-2.91	1,144,352	$1,556,610,034
DEG	De Grey Mining	1.16	-2.72	1,823,487	$2,149,918,971
360	Life360 Inc.	7.55	-2.58	231,490	$1,570,679,139
NEM	Newmont Corporation	59.07	-2.22	151,103	$21,304,422,695
HVN	Harvey Norman	3.60	-2.04	1,574,649	$4,572,844,420
IGO	IGO Limited	9.34	-1.79	1,971,837	$7,201,616,902
OCL	Objective Corp	10.43	-1.70	20,544	$1,009,929,465
WHC	Whitehaven Coal	7.28	-1.62	4,906,149	$6,190,845,802
AWC	Alumina Limited	0.77	-1.60	5,188,527	$2,263,311,505
YAL	Yancoal Aust Ltd	4.76	-1.55	2,499,116	$6,377,722,481
LTR	Liontown Resources	1.59	-1.55	5,606,147	$3,872,103,716