- Local shares extended gains on Wednesday
- Mining stocks lifted while Energy declined after Whithaven cut its guidance
- Housing starts in Australia declined as “there are simply not enough new projects”
The ASX extended yesterday’s 1.2% gain by another 0.4% today, with Mining and Staples sectors leading the charge.
Energy stocks were in the red as Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) slipped 2.5% after a guidance cut and slashing its production and sales forecasts.
Whitehaven has slashed ROM coal production guidance by 1-1.2Mt from 19-20.4Mt to 18-19.2Mt for FY23 on the back of production issues at its Maules Creek mine.
Among the large capped miners, Champion Iron (ASX:CIA) was the best performer, up by 7%.
Penfolds maker Treasury Wine Estates (ASX:TWE) posted another 2.5% gain today after acting PM Penny Wong said wine exports to China could be in line for a breakthrough after barley.
“Probably the next one we would want to look at is wine,” she said during an interview on Sky News.
Yesterday, Australia agreed to suspend its WTO appeal against Chinese tariffs for three months in return for China conducting a review of its tarrifs on Aussie products.
Away from the ASX …
New dwelling commencements in Australia dropped by 6.7% in the December quarter, according to ABS data today.
This is close to the lowest in a decade, as there are simply not enough new projects entering the pipeline to keep up with demand, says Master Builders Australia chief economist, Shane Garrett.
Australian consumer confidence added 1.1 points for the week, according to the ANZ-Roy Morgan survey released today.
“…overall confidence is still very weak, stuck below 80 points for a sixth consecutive week,” said ANZ Bank’s senior economist, Catherine Birch.
Competition watchdog ACCC boss Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the ACCC is seeking changes that would bring Australia’s merger regime into line with many OECD countries.
“The ACCC needs to have the tools necessary to be able to properly scrutinise and, if necessary, prevent mergers that are likely to substantially lessen competition.”
Elsewhere, Elon Musk told the BBC that most advertisers who abandoned the Twitter platform after he became CEO have now returned.
Nickel mining firm PT Trimegah Bangun Persada made its debut on the Jakarta Stock Exchange today, becoming Indonesia’s biggest IPO listing this year at $672m.
South Korea says it plans to mount solar panels on factory rooftops and parking lots to expedite its energy transition.
BIG CAP WINNERS
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| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NXT | Nextdc Limited | 12.06 | 8.41 | 4,627,084 | $5,086,619,187 |
| CIA | Champion Iron Ltd | 7.35 | 7.23 | 1,788,610 | $3,542,772,913 |
| IFT | Infratil Limited | 8.70 | 4.82 | 566,326 | $6,009,063,731 |
| LLC | Lendlease Group | 7.86 | 4.18 | 1,897,190 | $5,197,488,370 |
| LFG | Liberty Fin Group | 3.85 | 3.77 | 7,970 | $1,127,112,369 |
| WAF | West African Res Ltd | 1.06 | 3.68 | 3,710,266 | $1,044,049,302 |
| LTR | Liontown Resources | 2.71 | 3.44 | 9,621,379 | $5,759,951,138 |
| NIC | Nickel Industries | 0.94 | 3.31 | 16,454,757 | $2,736,952,832 |
| SGM | Sims Limited | 16.48 | 3.26 | 496,508 | $3,083,061,876 |
| RRL | Regis Resources | 2.27 | 2.95 | 3,613,355 | $1,661,057,035 |
| S32 | South32 Limited | 4.40 | 2.93 | 11,044,462 | $19,476,967,805 |
| GOR | Gold Road Res Ltd | 1.81 | 2.84 | 2,719,524 | $1,898,021,648 |
| AWC | Alumina Limited | 1.57 | 2.79 | 7,281,853 | $4,425,064,161 |
| MAQ | Macquarie Telecom | 62.00 | 2.79 | 15,074 | $1,300,817,509 |
| RIO | Rio Tinto Limited | 121.79 | 2.74 | 835,035 | $44,003,970,008 |
| DEG | De Grey Mining | 1.61 | 2.39 | 4,970,090 | $2,451,032,057 |
| ILU | Iluka Resources | 11.68 | 2.37 | 1,540,038 | $4,860,806,116 |
Data centre operator NextDC (ASX:NXT) also lifted 8% after reporting that the company’s contracted utilisation has increased by 35.9MW or 43% to 120MW.
BIG CAP LOSERS
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| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNZ | Summerset Grp Hldgs | 8.04 | -5.30 | 2,099 | $1,980,204,773 |
| PLS | Pilbara Min Ltd | 3.57 | -3.39 | 23,754,069 | $11,062,669,885 |
| SYR | Syrah Resources | 1.57 | -2.79 | 1,490,313 | $1,086,013,049 |
| WHC | Whitehaven Coal | 6.76 | -2.73 | 9,437,089 | $6,180,302,519 |
| PTM | Platinum Asset | 1.72 | -2.56 | 1,263,738 | $1,032,554,864 |
| SGP | Stockland | 4.15 | -2.35 | 5,719,124 | $10,145,479,564 |
| MIN | Mineral Resources. | 77.18 | -2.14 | 1,084,385 | $15,214,971,017 |
| QAN | Qantas Airways | 6.51 | -2.03 | 7,696,691 | $12,063,924,989 |
| INA | Ingenia Group | 3.86 | -2.03 | 671,848 | $1,605,878,060 |
| EVT | EVT Limited | 12.31 | -1.91 | 113,296 | $2,024,662,748 |
| KAR | Karoon Energy Ltd | 2.37 | -1.87 | 2,016,170 | $1,356,344,624 |
| MCY | Mercury NZ Limited | 5.82 | -1.86 | 3,174 | $8,223,681,778 |
| JDO | Judo Cap Holdings | 1.23 | -1.79 | 3,005,123 | $1,387,427,439 |
| NSR | National Storage | 2.54 | -1.74 | 23,319,530 | $3,435,616,517 |
| SOL | Soul Pattinson (W.H) | 31.22 | -1.70 | 334,865 | $11,464,339,329 |
Lithium producers mainly fell today with Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) falling by 3.5% as Morgan Stanley initiated its coverage on PLS today with an Underweight rating and $3.15 price target.