ASX ends higher on energy and gold miners; Beach Energy jumps on profit beat
ASX ends higher as energy stocks and gold miners gain. Beach Energy up on profit beat, Crown jumps on Blackstone bid, Westpac leads bank rally and New Hope names new CEO.
Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Monday, February 14. ASX snapped back from Friday's loss to close higher on gains led by energy stocks. It follows Crown accepting Blackstone's $8.9bn bid and Beach Energy leaping on profit beat.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.4 per cent higher to 7243.9.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.4 per cent on Friday, the S&P 500 lost 1.3 per cent and tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 2.8 per cent.
The geopolitical tension sent the price of US Nymex crude oil rallying 4.5 per cent to $US93.90 a barrel, while iron ore retreated 2.3 per cent to $US150.15 a tonne.
PM promises to buy Rex if no-one else does
Anthony Albanese says the government will acquire Rex airlines if no other buyer is found, to keep regional flights operating.
The next big style brag for men? ‘It’s not cashmere. It’s yak’
Yak wool is menswear’s new luxe material – rarer and funnier to talk about than cashmere. But is it softer too? Our writer compares a pair of shirts.