ASX 200 gains; ANZ reviews alcohol policy amid 'massive changes'; Cloud over Star's NSW licence; Downer jumps

ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott tells parliament a ban on staff drinking alcohol during work hours is 'entirely reasonable', after its conduct scandal. Star halts as NSW casino regulator looks at licence. Ramsay and Harvey Norman fall.

ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott appearing before the House Standing Committee on Economics at Parliament House. Picture: Martin Ollman/NewsWire

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Friday, August 30. The ASX 200 closed 0.6 per cent higher at 8091.90 points. Wall Street closed mixed with Nvidia's falls dragging down Nasdaq.

The Aussie dollar is trading around US68.03c with disappointing July retail trade data having little impact.

Updates

4:55 pm August 30, 2024

ASX 200 ends up 0.6pc at month end

David Rogers

Australia's stock market rises strongly at month-end as US futures rise.

The S&P/ASX 200 ends up 0.6 per cent at a four-week high close of 8091.9.

A 15 point rise in the closing match was indicative of month-end flows.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.3 per cent with Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.5 per cent.

All sectors except consumer discretionary, health care and staples rose.

Industrials, energy, property, materials and financials outperformed with Downer EDI up 17 per cent on a strong dividend and outlook, Qantas up 5.3 per cent, Woodside up 2.1 per cent as Brent crude oil rose 1.8 per cent to $US80.08, BHP up 0.6 per cent and the major banks up 0.5-1.2 per cent led by ANZ.

Wesfarmers fell 2 per cent as UBS downgraded.

Ramsay Health Care dived 6.8 per cent on a disappointing outlook.

Harvey Norman lost 6.3 per cent after a sharp fall in profit.

4:11 pm August 30, 2024 Highlight

ANZ reviews alcohol policy as part of 'massive changes'

Joyce Moullakis

ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott says the bank is reviewing its alcohol consumption policy, as part of "massive" changes that will stem from a conduct and bond trading scandal.

Mr Elliott told a parliamentary committee he expected to see a "massive series of changes" at ANZ, and he and the management team were working on changes to a host of the bank's policies and processes.

Included in those potential changes was a possible ban on alcohol consumption during work hours.

Mr Elliott said he personally thought that policy change on alcohol was "entirely reasonable", as ANZ reviewed a range of policies.

3:37 pm August 30, 2024

Rio, BHP will be forced offshore, Rinehart warns

Perry Williams

Mining billionaire Gina Rinehart has warned federal Labor risks alienating Australia's two largest producers, Rio Tinto and BHP, with "increased government tape" increasingly forcing the mining giants offshore to rival countries.

"Only 20 per cent of the pipeline of major resources projects now get through the increased government tape to deliver development and consequent high paying jobs and more. This is reality. And the consequences should be obvious," Mrs Rinehart told the Bush Summit in Port Hedland on Friday.

The mining mogul, whose private Roy Hill iron ore complex competes with Rio and BHP, said her rivals were increasingly looking offshore rather than prioritising Australian investment.

"Rio have been amazing, investing productive billions in Pilbara where it has successful world class ports and gigantic infrastructure, and huge untapped ore resources, off it goes to invest we’re told $6bn in Simandou, Guinea," Mrs Rinehart said. "What does that do for Aussie high paid mining jobs, revenue, opportunities? Nothing."

The resources leader said BHP was also considering marginal investments offshore.

"BHP is investing hundreds of miles into the arctic circle, into a mine that given the extreme weather, can only operate up to three months each year," Mrs Rinehart said.

"BHP has invested billions into successful world class railways, towns, infrastructure right here in Port Hedland and in the Pilbara. And yet now BHP sees it wise to invest in an extreme weather place it can only operate three months a year."

Mrs Rinehart said Australia was missing out on extra revenues and jobs for the mining industry.

Read more coverage of the Bush Summit here.

2:59 pm August 30, 2024

Minerals Council slams IR hit

Perry Williams

Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable has slammed the federal government’s multi-employer bargaining laws, which threaten to add a major cost hit to the resources industry.

Three coal miners were compelled by the Fair Work Commission to enter negotiations last week which Ms Constable has said sets a “dangerous precedent” heightening the risk of strikes and disruption of operations.

The MCA boss said it was the latest in a line of regulatory imposts which had damaged the industry.

“What the government has given to the union movement is unfettered access to our industry again,” Ms Constable told the Bush Summit on Friday.

“So what we're going to see is going right back to where we were in the 1970s and the potential for patent bargaining."

“That's a really bad thing for Australia when we're already seeing major costs being put to this particular industry,” she said, pointing to increased energy prices and carbon abatement costs.

Business leaders and industry chiefs, concerned about souring relations with the Albanese government, are warning that companies could be forced to pull investment.

"“The Fair Work Commission said that there was enough commonality between the supervisors and managers where they had to come together and look at bargaining as a single enterprise," Ms Constable said.

“Now that's very, very dangerous, because what it means is that it's not just about coal mines, think of the Pilbra and iron ore.

“We've got all of the big miners that are subject to multi employer bargaining, we've got a Roy Hill, we've got a Rio Tinto, we've got a BHP, we've got an FMG, amongst others, that are at risk now of having to come together as a single enterprise."

2:57 pm August 30, 2024

Harvey Norman shares extend fall

Eli Greenblat

Shares in Harvey Norman have extended their losses through the day to more than 6 per cent in the wake of its latest annual results.

Harvey Norman shares hit a low of $4.56 after the retailer posted a 34.7 per cent slide in its full-year net profit to $352.45m as total sales for the group fell 3.6 per cent to $8.862bn.

The final dividend was kept flat at 12c. The result was in line with market expectations.

Despite its flagship Australian stores reporting stronger sales exiting the second half and into July, its international arm was a drag on profitability.

Harvey Norman shares are currently down 6 per cent to $4.60.

2:56 pm August 30, 2024 Highlight

ANZ boss says there will be consequences

Joyce Moullakis

ANZ boss Shayne Elliott has asserted there will be consequences across multiple levels of management, due to poor conduct at the bank.

"I can assure you there will be consequences," he told a parliamentary committee. He referred to multiple layers of managers across the bank.

He reiterated that ANZ had terminated one employee, parted ways with two others and handed out a formal warning regarding bad behaviour.

"There will be consequences around each and every one of those," Mr Elliott said.

"We are going through the (annual performance review) process."

"I'm angry about these three matters," Mr Elliott added, referring to poor conduct, data reporting issues and allegations of irregular trading in the futures and government bond market.

2:47 pm August 30, 2024

Internal probe into 'poor conduct' took too long: ANZ CEO

Joyce Moullakis

ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott says the bank's own investigation into poor conduct "took too long", as it assessed complaints about employee behaviour in its markets business.

Mr Elliott said ANZ was assessing whether conduct issues within the markets unit were identified quickly enough, and how to expedite its own investigations.

ANZ is reviewing how it deals with issues and escalating problems, in light of a regulatory probe entangling the bank on a $14bn government bond issuance last year.

"We have to go back and look at all of our risk settings, including escalation," Mr Elliott told a parliamentary hearing.

2:45 pm August 30, 2024

Appen shares dive after $17.8m half-year loss

Joseph Lam

Appen shares have tanked more than 18 per cent after the company reported a half-year loss of $17.8m.

The AI training data specialist has had to look outside the US for new contracts after it lost one of its most lucrative deals with Google in January this year.

The loss of that contract, which sent shares diving 40 per cent to 27.5c at the time, led to a $13.5m cost-cutting program which included the closure of two North American offices and a number of layoffs.

Appen shares on Friday fell as much as 18.5 per cent to 99c. The stock is currently down 14.4 per cent to $1.04.

2:20 pm August 30, 2024

Data reporting issue was an 'isolated mistake': ANZ boss

Joyce Moullakis

ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott said the data reporting issue the bank had with the Australian Office of Financial Management related to not reporting numbers for synthetic repurchase agreements.

Mr Elliott was adamant, however, that the data error was not intentional and was a mistake by the bank.

He said there was "no evidence that it was deliberate" regarding the data reporting of volumes to the AOFM.

Mr Elliott outlined that ANZ did not report synthetic repurchase agreements to the AOFM last year, which reflected an under-reporting of the bank's total volumes to the agency.

He said it was hard to see how ANZ got "any advantage" from the data reporting issue.

ANZ has reviewed its data reporting across federal and state agencies and Mr Elliott said it had not uncovered further issues.

"We've not found evidence of any other errors… this does appear to be isolated"

2:04 pm August 30, 2024 Highlight

'Significant reputational damage' for ANZ Bank: CEO

Joyce Moullakis

ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott says the bank has "suffered significant reputational damage", which would feed into pay outcomes given the regulatory probe into its conduct in the government bond market.

"There's no doubt the reputational damage will impact" the remuneration and assessment of some of the bank's executives and staff, Mr Elliott told a parliamentary committee on Friday. He said three people have left the bank and one had received a formal warning around their behaviour. The latter person's warning had to do with the use of profanity and coming back to the office after consuming an "unreasonable amount" of alcohol.

Mr Elliott first learned of the corporate regulator's probe into the bank's handling of a government bank issue in February, via an email. Mr Elliott said an employee in the bank's legal team alerted him to the investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission into a $14bn bond issuance last year.

Mr Elliott said an identified data reporting error "was a mistake" by the bank, but if ANZ found wrongdoing, there would be consequences. He said so far the bank's internal probe hadn't uncovered "anything improper" in relation to trading in the government bond and futures market.