ASX 200 rises as CBA hits record high; miners fall; REA drops on potential UK buy; The Star suspended from trading

Bank and energy gains offset declines by iron ore and gold miners. REA falls on news it is considering a bid for Rightmove. The Star suspended from trading. 

Australian stocks have shrugged off a strong finish on Wall Street. Picture: Monique Harmer

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Monday, September 2nd. After earlier falling as much as 0.6 per cent, the ASX 200 closed 0.2 per cent higher at 8109.9 points.

The Aussie dollar is trading around US67.77c.

Updates

4:30 pm September 2, 2024

ASX 200 gains 0.2 per cent as CBA hits record

Megan Neil

The ASX 200 closed higher as gains by the heavyweight banks and a record high for CBA pushed the bourse into positive territory, offsetting falls by iron ore and gold miners.

After falling as much as 0.6 per cent, the sharemarket staged a comeback to finish 0.2 per cent stronger at 8109.9 points.

The major banks boosted the ASX 200, with CBA hitting an all-time high of $141.87 before ending at a record close of $141.77, up 1.6 per cent. NAB rose 1.3 per cent to $38.65, Westpac advanced 1.2 per cent to $31.60 and ANZ lifted 0.9 per cent to $30.66.

Capital.com senior financial market analyst Kyle Rodda said the ASX 200 built steam heading into the close to finish the day’s trade marginally higher to challenge a short-term level of technical resistance at 8100 points.

"The rally bucked a trend in the broader region which saw equities suffer in soggy trading conditions after weak Chinese economic data and ahead of a public holiday in the US," Mr Rodda said.

"The miners weighed on the market as iron ore prices slipped and gold miners fell as gold prices receded from record highs.

"The banks anchored the rally, which have held their value despite ongoing fears that valuations are too stretched given Australia’s sluggish economic fundamentals."

Energy stocks were also higher, with Woodside up 1.4 per cent to $27.57 and Santos gaining 1.1 per cent to $7.30.

Mining heavyweights finished in the red as iron ore futures fell 3.3 per cent to $US97.70 a tonne in Singapore trading. BBHP lost 1.1 per cent to $40.33, Rio Tinto dropped 1.4 per cent to $109.94 and Fortescue eased 0.5 per cent to $18.18.

Among gold miners, Bellevue Gold dropped more than 9 per cent to $1.15, Red 5 lost 7.4 per cent to 31.5c, and Perseus Mining fell almost 5 per cent to $2.51. Evolution Mining fell 3.1 per cent to $4.11.

REA Group ended 5.3 per cent lower at $207.44 after the digital property advertising group revealed it is considering an $8.5bn takeover play for British property portal Rightmove.

3:19 pm September 2, 2024

CBA shares hit a record high

Megan Neil

CBA shares have hit a record high of $141.58 in afternoon trading, as heavyweight bank stocks help the ASX 200 lift into positive territory.

CBA shares are currently up 1.4 per cent to $141.47.

The other major banks are all higher, helping boost the bourse with the ASX 200 now up 7.5 points to 8099.40 points after earlier falling as much as 0.6 per cent.

3:11 pm September 2, 2024

JB Hi-Fi completes purchase of controlling stake in e&s

Megan Neil

Consumer electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi has completed its $47.8m acquisition of a controlling stake in kitchen, laundry and bathroom products chain e&s.

Under a deal announced in August, JB Hi-Fi acquired 75 per cent of E&S Trading.

“We are very pleased to have successfully completed the acquisition of e&s and are excited to welcome e&s to the JB Hi-Fi Group.," JB Hi-Fi group chief executive Terry Smart said.

JB Hi-Fi shares are up 1.4 per cent to $80.67.

2:40 pm September 2, 2024 Highlight

Chalmers rejects suggestion tried to influence RBA

Jack Quail

Jim Chalmers has rejected suggestions that he attempted to influence the Reserve Bank after he declared that its run of rate hikes was “smashing the economy”.

“I think the Australian people, frankly, expect me to tell it like it is. And I've been making that point for some months. What I said overnight wasn't new,” Dr Chalmers told reporters in Perth on Monday.

“That's not an opinion. That is very clear from the data. That's not taking a shot at anyone. That's just recognising the facts of our economy right now.”

Asked if he directly raised with RBA governor Michele Bullock that interest rates were “smashing the economy”, Dr Chalmers declined to detail his private conversations with the central bank chief.

“I've got a really good, close working relationship with governor Bullock,” he said.

“Ever since we appointed her the governor of the Reserve Bank, the dialogue has been – the lines of communication have been open, and the dialogue has been real.”

1:24 pm September 2, 2024

July housing data shows surge in approvals

Jack Quail

Labor’s ambitious target to build 1.2 million ‘well located’ homes by mid-2029 got off to a strong start, with fresh building approvals data showing a surge in dwellings signed-off for construction during July.

Across the first month of the five-year plan, total dwellings approved — a key indicator of Australia’s residential construction pipeline — surged 10.4 per cent to 14,797 homes.

That reading was far stronger than the 2.3 per cent increase anticipated by economists.

The large rise in total approvals reflected a 32.1 per cent increase in the number of apartments and units green-lit in July, while approvals for detached houses rose by a more modest 0.6 per cent.

Despite the strong monthly result, approvals will have to push higher still to reach Labor’s target under its national housing accord.

"Even after the rise in high density approvals in July, the series is still relatively low historically," JP Morgan analyst Jack Stinson said.

12:43 pm September 2, 2024

Government, RBA 'aligned over inflation fight': PM

Jack Quail

Anthony Albanese has rebuffed suggestions that Labor is trying to shift blame onto the Reserve Bank for bringing economic growth to a crawl, stating that his government and the RBA are aligned in their fight against inflation.

The Prime Minister's comments came on Monday after Jim Chalmers warned that the central bank’s aggressive run of rate hikes were “smashing the economy”, triggering criticism from the Coalition that the Treasurer was “at war” with governor Michele Bullock.

“It’s just a fact that it’s nothing different from what Jim Chalmers has said before, which is that the global inflationary environment is having a real impact on households,” Mr Albanese told Nine Radio on Monday.

“There is cost-of-living pressure on people, they're really feeling it.”

Mr Albanese stressed that the Reserve Bank was an independent body but that it, and the government, had the same responsibility.

“We have the same objective of getting inflation down,” he said.

12:28 pm September 2, 2024

REA one of biggest ASX 200 losers on UK news

Megan Neil

REA Group shares have fallen sharply on news that it is considering its largest offshore move with a potential $8.5bn takeover play for British property portal Rightmove.

REA shares are down 6.9 per cent to $203.98, making it one of the biggest decliners on the ASX 200 behind gold miner Perseus Mining, which has dropped 7 per cent to $2.45, and Neuren Pharmaceuticals, which is off 7.3 per cent to $14.46.

REA confirmed it was considering the possible cash and share offer for Rightmove, but had not approached nor had any talks with the target about the potential move.

REA pointed to the opportunity to create a global property digital property business that was a leader in both Australia and Britain, with the move likely to appeal to investors looking for the next leg of the company’s growth.

Read the full story here.

12:10 pm September 2, 2024

ASX dips 0.3 per cent as miners weigh

Megan Neil

The ASX 200 is down 0.3 per cent to 8067.10 points at noon, as declines by gold and iron ore miners weigh on the bourse.

The local market shrugged off a positive session on Wall Street on Friday, spending the morning in the red as declines in the prices of gold and iron ore put pressure on miners.

Mining major BHP is down 0.9 per cent to $40.42 and Rio Tinto has dropped 1.6 per cent to $109.78, but Fortescue is almost flat at $18.28.

Gold miner Evolution Mining is down 3.1 per cent to $4.11 and Perseus Mining drops 7 per cent to $2.44.

REA Group shares are down sharply, falling almost 7 per cent to $204.16 after the digital property advertising group revealed it is considering an $8.5bn takeover play for British property portal Rightmove.

Energy stocks are trading higher with Woodside up 1 per cent to $27.45 and Santos rising 0.5 per cent to $7.25.

Financial heavyweights are also providing some support to the market with the big four banks all higher. CBA is up 0.7 per cent to $140.48, NAB rises 0.6 per cent to $38.38, Westpac gains 0.9 per cent to $31.53 and ANZ is up 0.7 per cent to $30.60.

11:48 am September 2, 2024

ANZ-Indeed job ads decline again in August

Megan Neil

The total number of job ads fell again in August, with the ANZ-Indeed series showing a 2.1 per cent month-on-month decline.

ANZ economist Madeline Dunk said ANZ-Indeed Australian job ads declined in August for the seventh consecutive month to be down 15.3 per cent so far in 2024.

"Yet employment has risen by 318,000 in 2024 (273,000 in full-time employment), and six-month average employment growth is running at its strongest pace since late 2022," Ms Dunk said.

"Part of the decline in the series (which measures total job ads rather than new job ads) is likely due to workers finding jobs."

11:07 am September 2, 2024

Citi hires ex-Perennial institutional sales head Birch

Cameron England

Citi has hired former head of institutional sales at Perennial Partners Dan Birch, who joins the firm as head of markets sales New Zealand, tasked with driving client engagement over the ditch.

Mr Birch was at Perennial for about five-and-a-half years before finishing up last September, with previous roles at OCTX and Russell Investments.

Citi also announced Ankit Khandelwal had joined the G10 rates trading team from Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he held several trading and risk roles.

Melanie Vandervord is also joining Citi in the Access Strategies team covering Australia and New Zealand.

“Melanie brings over 20 years’ experience in corporate access from her time at Goldman Sachs and most recently as corporate access specialist at MST Financial,’’ Citi said.

Internally, Peter Hext who has been with Citi for more than 13 years, most recently as head of commercial asset-backed securitisation in New York, in June moved into a new role as head of asset-backed securitisation and financing for Australia and New Zealand.

Citi said it had also added two new appointments to its corporate FX sales team and a new sales trader in the equities electronic execution team.

Citi Australia and New Zealand head of markets Cristina Chang said the Australian and New Zealand Markets business was experiencing “material growth”.

“We are investing in our capabilities to ensure we have the skills and experience needed to meet our clients’ complex needs in a dynamic market environment,” Ms Chang said.