The ASX 200 traded in a narrow band today, finishing the day lower by 0.24% ahead of the RBA meeting tomorrow.
Of the 11 ASX sectors, six rose while five fell.
The biggest winning sector by far was Tech, which gained almost 4% following a 3% rally on Nasdaq overnight.
The Nasdaq got a boost from Apple’s 7% surge, following the tech giant’s highest ever revenue in its history with earnings topping US$30bn for the first time led by strong sales in iPhones.
Energy, real estate, and discretionary sectors were also in the winners’ circle today, while Healthcare managed to keep itself in the green despite Ansell (ASX:ANN) tumbling 13.5% on earnings downgrade.
Meanwhile the Aussie dollar has fallen just below US$0.70, its weakest level in 18 months as traders put bets one day ahead of the RBA meeting.
In its first meeting for the year, the Australian central bank is expected to give the market a signal on the timing of a likely rate hike, following the US Fed’s decision to raise its rates in March.
BIG CAP WINNERS
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| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IAP | Irongate Group | 1.84 | 17.2% | 3,184,911 | $1,063,784,514 |
| TLX | Telix Pharmaceutical | 6.83 | 9.5% | 915,967 | $1,916,429,929 |
| SQ2 | Block | 161.67 | 8.3% | 165,243 | $14,341,427,672 |
| ARB | ARB Corporation. | 46.32 | 8.3% | 440,671 | $3,493,263,274 |
| GNE | Genesis Energy Ltd | 2.77 | 8.2% | 29,089 | $2,671,535,747 |
| 360 | Life360 Inc. | 8.2 | 7.3% | 714,184 | $1,398,740,215 |
| Z1P | Zip Co Ltd. | 3.15 | 7.1% | 6,154,054 | $1,731,174,559 |
| CEN | Contact Energy Ltd | 7.38 | 5.4% | 25,136 | $1,723,313,809 |
| IMD | Imdex Limited | 2.96 | 5.3% | 832,805 | $1,114,031,244 |
| WTC | Wisetech Global Ltd | 45.46 | 5.3% | 641,728 | $14,094,082,047 |
| AVZ | AVZ Minerals Ltd | 0.705 | 5.2% | 15,365,080 | $2,312,882,264 |
| OCL | Objective Corp | 16 | 5.0% | 37,686 | $1,440,219,944 |
| ARF | Arena REIT. | 4.7 | 4.9% | 1,705,569 | $1,548,289,434 |
| APX | Appen Limited | 9.66 | 4.9% | 573,412 | $1,133,519,976 |
| NEC | Nine Entertainment | 2.65 | 4.7% | 3,271,652 | $4,314,644,930 |
| CQE | Charter Hall Soc In | 3.86 | 4.6% | 766,681 | $1,346,063,307 |
| BPT | Beach Energy Limited | 1.49 | 4.6% | 9,581,185 | $3,250,900,460 |
Real estate investment trust Irongate Group (ASX:IAP) was the biggest large cap winner today, up 17% after receiving an upgrade offer from Dutch pension PGGM and Charter Hall (ASX:CHC) for $1.3bn in cash at $1.90 a share.
Australia’s largest manufacturer of motor vehicles accessories, ARB Corp (ASX:ARB), rallied after sales revenues lifted by 26.5% to $359m in the first half. ARB also said that it expects pre-tax profit for the half to come in between $90m and $92m.
BNPL stocks were in favour today, with both Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) and Zip Co (ASX:Z1P) rising by 7% each on no news.
Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) said its LNG production for the last quarter increased by 2%, boosting its revenue by 33% from the previous quarter.
BIG CAP LOSERS
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| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANN | Ansell Limited | 27.1 | -13.3% | 4,848,922 | $3,991,913,647 |
| NHF | NIB Holdings Limited | 6.28 | -5.3% | 1,253,144 | $3,039,577,833 |
| HTA | Hutchison | 0.11 | -4.3% | 10,726 | $1,560,838,486 |
| PBH | Pointsbet Holdings | 4.85 | -4.3% | 2,947,444 | $1,336,447,589 |
| BKL | Blackmores Limited | 81.88 | -3.8% | 30,019 | $1,650,568,547 |
| OZL | OZ Minerals | 24.23 | -3.8% | 1,374,428 | $8,401,432,220 |
| GOR | Gold Road Res Ltd | 1.33 | -3.6% | 3,013,318 | $1,217,046,724 |
| ANZ | ANZ Banking Grp Ltd | 26.58 | -3.2% | 5,332,119 | $77,346,434,545 |
| IMU | Imugene Limited | 0.305 | -3.2% | 26,759,987 | $1,828,797,337 |
| CDA | Codan Limited | 9.05 | -2.9% | 513,699 | $1,685,838,274 |
| GMA | Genworth Mortgage | 2.42 | -2.8% | 959,691 | $1,024,615,508 |
| SLR | Silver Lake Resource | 1.465 | -2.7% | 4,636,597 | $1,373,291,254 |
| FPH | Fisher & Paykel H. | 26.35 | -2.3% | 702,088 | $15,574,454,403 |
| BXB | Brambles Limited | 9.67 | -2.2% | 3,099,848 | $14,188,240,374 |
Protective medical equipment maker Ansell tumbled 14% after it warned that full year profit will be much lower than expected because the demand for single-use gloves have begun to wane.
Ansell tumbled by as much as 22% earlier, before recovering a bit on dip buying.
BHP (ASX:BHP) officially ditched its dual listed structure today, scrapping its London listing and trading exclusively on the ASX.
Private health insurer NIB Holdings (ASX:NHF) was down 5% on no direct company news.