ASX dips to a seven-week low as banks cop a hit

Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day.

The numbers

The Australian sharemarket has closed in the red, with banks weighing down the bourse, which closed at a seven-week low. The S&P/ASX 200 finished down by 41.2 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 8118.8 points at close, with all but two of the 11 industry sectors in the red.

The big four banks all closed lower, with NAB taking the biggest hit to close 1.5 per cent weaker.

Meanwhile, energy stocks were a bright spot on the index, as oil prices edged up on talks of Iran potentially considering a retaliatory strike on Israel. Woodside rose 1.1 per cent and Santos ended the day 0.7 per cent stronger.

Wall Street was underwhelmed by the results of Meta and Microsoft.Credit: AP

The lifters

Mining companies recovered through the trading day after a poor start, with Champion Iron finishing as the index’s best performer, up 4.8 per cent, followed by Mineral Resources and gold miner Capricorn Metals, up 3.1 and 3 per cent respectively.

Large miners BHP and Fortescue recovered by the close after dipping into negative territory earlier in the day, up 0.3 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively. Rio Tinto also edged 1.7 per cent higher.

Meanwhile, Australian technology giant Atlassian’s shares made a splash on the Nasdaq, soaring nearly 20 per cent in after hours trading after it raised its annual revenue growth forecast and beat analyst expectations with its quarterly results. The results were the first from Atlassian without co-founder Scott Farquhar at the helm.

Billionaire co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes, who is now Atlassian’s sole chief executive, said the software company had passed 300,000 customers globally and its cloud computing revenues were growing faster than expected.

Total revenue for the quarter ending September 30 landed at $US1.19 billion, up 21 per cent year-on-year.

“I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made in the first quarter of FY25 and continue to be optimistic about the significant opportunities ahead,” Cannon-Brookes said.

“Our years of effort in building a world-class cloud platform are paying off, particularly in the AI era. Atlassian is now expecting revenue growth for the 2025 fiscal year of between 16.5 per cent and 17 per cent, compared to earlier expectations of 16 per cent.”

The laggards

Financials, healthcare and consumer discretionary stocks were the biggest laggards on the index, with Star Entertainment Group (down 6.2 per cent) and Corporate Travel Management (down 4.8 per cent) among the worst performers. Packaging giant Amcor was another notable loser, with its shares sliding 4.3 per cent, despite it sticking to its financial outlook for fiscal 2025.

Macquarie Bank shed 3.6 per cent after its $1.6 billion half-year profit missed market expectations. The big four banks slumped, with NAB shedding 1.5 per cent, Commonwealth Bank falling 0.6 per cent, while Westpac and ANZ closed flat.

The lowdown

Managing director at RBC Capital Markets, Karen Jorritsma, said Australia’s sharemarket is yet to feel large-scale impacts ahead of large global and banking events next week.

“We’re seeing very limited trading here in Australia today ahead of the US election next week, there seems to be just a strike of nothing happening. It’s election, then 24 hours later, it’s the Fed decision, which have the potential to be quite market moving,” Jorritsma said.

“I think the big miners, the big banks, that’s all ahead of macro noise next week. I think in Australia, the big caps have the potential to be the most impacted by big macro stuff. You’ve got China expecting some more stimulus attention, that’s very relevant for the miners.”

On Thursday, the S&P 500 sank 1.9 per cent for its worst day in eight weeks and fell further from its record set earlier this month. The Dow Jones dropped 378 points, or 0.9 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite tumbled 2.8 per cent for a second straight loss after setting its latest all-time high.

Microsoft reported bigger profit growth for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its revenue also topped forecasts, but its stock nevertheless sank 6 per cent as investors and analysts scoured for possible disappointments. Many centred on Microsoft’s estimate for upcoming growth in its Azure cloud-computing business, which fell short of some analysts’ expectations.

The parent company of Facebook also served up a better-than-expected profit report. As with Microsoft, that wasn’t enough to boost its stock. Investors focused instead on Meta Platforms’ warning that it expects a “significant acceleration” in spending next year as it continues to pour money into developing artificial intelligence. It fell 4.1 per cent.

Apple, the world’s most valuable company, fell 2 per cent in after-hours trading after reporting weaker-than-anticipated sales in China. Amazon.com climbed 4 per cent after projecting profit and revenue in the current quarter that exceeded analysts’ estimates on optimism for a strong holiday shopping season. They’re the latest companies in the highly influential group of stocks known as the “Magnificent Seven” to do so.

Earlier this month, Tesla and Alphabet kicked off the Magnificent Seven’s reports with results that investors found impressive enough to reward with higher stock prices.

Tweet of the day

Quote of the day

“Nothing touches the Melbourne Cup. It’s just a massive day where all Australians, frankly, a lot of the world, tunes in. It’s an iconic part of Australian culture.” That’s Tabcorp’s new boss and former AFL chief Gillon McLachlan, talking about the gambling company’s outlook before the Melbourne Cup next Tuesday.

But, as Colin Kruger writes, a gambling operation as big as Tabcorp is not meant to rely on luck for its fortunes. The big wins that McLachlan needs to turn around the wagering giant’s fortunes are all off the track. At least Everest provided McLachlan with the vision Tabcorp needs if it is to arrest its decline as a gambling powerhouse.

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With AP

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