ASX 200 ends higher as Santos falls and NAB gets new CEO

Gains in utilities and materials saw the Australian sharemarket climb on Wednesday as companies announced some big news.

Woodside walked away from a deal with Santos while NAB announced a new boss, as the Australian sharemarket climbed on Wednesday.

The benchmark ASX 200 index gained 34.20 points, or 0.45 per cent, to finish the session at 7615.80 points.

Top performing stocks were Chalice Mining (up 8.52 per cent), Alumina (up 5.69 per cent) and Pilbara Minerals (up 5.62 per cent).

The index has lost 0.84 per cent for the past five days, but is effectively unchanged over the year to date.

Four of the 11 sectors closed in the red, led by energy which was down by 0.95 per cent.

The broader All Ordinaries also closed higher, gaining 42 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 7850.90.

The top stock was global online retailer Cettire, which rose 25.24 per cent.

The index has lost 0.78 per cent for the past five days, but is also effectively unchanged over the last year to date.

The Australian dollar is trading at about US65.27c – up 0.03 per cent.

The ASX 200 index gained 34.20 points, or 0.45 per cent, to finish the session at 7615.80 points on Wednesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Monique Harmer

The Chinese stock market surged about four per cent on Tuesday, which gave support to the Aussie market as it opened on Wednesday.

Sectors sensitive to interest rates, such as utilities, led the way with gains, as well as materials, technology and industrials.

GQG Partners was up 7.38 per cent, while Brambles climbed 3.69 per cent, Origin Energy rose 2.66 per cent and South32 close 2.55 per cent higher.

Domino’s Pizza was one of the biggest losers, down 3.66 per cent.

Oil and gas giant Woodside announced it had “ceased discussions” regarding a potential merger with Santos.

Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill said the company had, as always, conducted thorough

due diligence.

“We continue to be disciplined in our approach to mergers and acquisitions and capital management to create and deliver value for shareholders,” she said.

“While the discussions with Santos did not result in a transaction, Woodside considers that the global LNG sector provides significant potential for value creation.”

Woodside Petroleum closed higher. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Sharon Smith

Following the announcement, Woodside closed 0.53 per cent higher, while Santos dropped 5.85 per cent.

Other major mining companies saw small gains on Wednesday.

BHP added 1.04 per cent, while Rio Tinto rose 0.94 per cent and Fortescue Metals was up one per cent.

Among the big four banks, CBA gained 0.16 per cent, Westpac rose 0.50 per cent, ANZ dipped 0.04 per cent and NAB closed 0.22 per cent lower.

The NAB board of directors announced on Wednesday that Andrew Irvine would become group chief executive officer and managing director from April 2.