ASX 200 slumps; Anglo rejects BHP bid; Farquhar to step down as Atlassian co-CEO

The local sharemarket closed down 1.4 per cent on Friday. Anglo American rejected BHP's takeover bid. Scott Farquhar stepping down as Atlassian co-CEO. Super Retail Group faces $30m-$50m workplace claim. 

BHP Billiton’s takeover bid for Anglo American is a focus for investors. Picture: Gaye Gerard/NCA NewsWire

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Friday, April 26. The ASX 200 closed down 1.4 per cent to 7575.9 points. US stocks fell as data showing slower economic growth and persistent inflation reinforced expectations of a delay in Fed rate cuts. 

The Aussie dollar is trading around US65.39c.

Updates

4:49 pm April 26, 2024

ASX closes with red across the board

Staff writers

The S&P/ASX 200 slumped 1.4 per cent, or 107.1 points, to 7575.9 on Friday, putting the market on track for its worst monthly performance since September, 2022.

It was one of the largest single session declines of the year, with all 11 sectors finishing in the red. Industrials was the worst performer, sliding 2.2 per cent.

The market was weighed down by a fall on Wall Street and a negative reaction to BHP’s $41bn tilt for Anglo American’s assets.

The benchmark index managed to finish the week slightly ahead, with a gain of 0.11 per cent but is on track to finish the month well underwater. The ASX 200 is off almost 4.1 per cent so far in April. Its worst performance since September, 2022, when it fell 7.34 per cent.

“The falls continue to be driven by concerns around interest rates,” CommSec said.

Resources heavyweight BHP was one of the worst performers on Friday, tumbling 4.6 per cent to $43.15, after making a bold play for London-based rival Anglo American and grab a bigger share of the global copper market.

Gold miner Newmont was the top stock on the benchmark index, surging 13.9 per cent to $65.70 after its first-quarter profit beat market estimates.

ResMed was second best, up 9.6 per cent to $31.50 as its quarterly earnings beat analyst expectations.

Baker Young managed portfolio analyst Toby Grimm said stock markets were going through a “painful adjustment” at the moment amid interest rate uncertainty and disappointing economic growth, particularly in the US.

“The market is coming to terms with the fact that multiple interest rate cuts beginning mid-year from overseas central banks is looking extremely unlikely,” he said.

“And it’s quite possible there won’t be any rate cuts this year – that’s a big change from opinions just a few weeks ago when we were expecting three or more.”

Rate-sensitive sectors such as real estate investment trusts and consumer discretionary stocks were feeling the most pressure at the moment, Mr Grimm said.

“There was a lot of hope that rate cuts would come through and bolster consumer spending,” he said.

4:23 pm April 26, 2024

Anglo rejects BHP offer

Nick Evans

Anglo American has knocked back BHP’s £21bn ($40.5bn) takeover offer, saying the mining giant’s all-scrip bid “significantly undervalues” Anglo’s assets.

Anglo chairman Stuart Chambers released a statement to the London Stock Exchange late on Friday, Australian time, saying that BHP’s bid was opportunistic and fails to value Anglo’s assets fairly.

“Anglo American is well positioned to create significant value from its portfolio of high quality assets that are well aligned with the energy transition and other major demand trends,” he said.

“The BHP proposal is opportunistic and fails to value Anglo American’s prospects, while significantly diluting the relative value upside participation of Anglo American’s shareholders relative to BHP’s shareholders.”

Mr Chambers said BHP’s proposed structure, which would require Anglo to distribute its holdings in Amplats and Kumba iron to shareholders before inking a deal with BHP, would create “substantial uncertainty and execution risk borne almost entirely by Anglo American, its shareholders and its other stakeholders”.

Anglo American said its shareholders needed to take no action in relation to BHP’s proposed bid, and should wait for the mining giant to either vacate the field or make a firm offer – which it must do before May 22 under the UK’s takeovers rules.

2:03 pm April 26, 2024 Highlight

Lawyers and Super Retail thrash it out

Eli Greenblat

Super Retail Group is meeting with its law firm Allens to discuss the threat of litigation from two executives who have made sensational claims about an undisclosed relationship between the retailer’s chief executive and its head of HR as well as other claims of bullying, victimisation and inappropriate company travel.

The conference call will specifically seek to discuss if workplace specialist law firm Harmers has lodged court documents including a statement of claim or served the company with court papers.

Internally, Super Retail believes it is the victim of a ‘shake down’ and rather than wait for court documents to land, made the extraordinary step of alerting the stock exchange on Friday morning.

Responding to the move, lawyers acting for “several employees” of Super Retail Group say the retailer’s statement contains “major inaccuracies”.

“We can confirm that we are acting for several Super Retail Group employees. In response to the ASX Statement issued by Super Retail Group today, we believe it contains major inaccuracies. We have no further comment at this stage,” workplace specialist law firm Harmers says.

Super Retail Group owns the retail chains Rebel, Macpac and Supercheap Auto.

1:52 pm April 26, 2024 Highlight

Bank of Japan holds rates steady

Agency writers

The Bank of Japan kept its interest-rate target unchanged Friday, a month after it made its first rate increase in 17 years.

The Japanese central bank maintained its target for the overnight call rate at a range of 0 per cent to 0.1 per cent.

At its previous meeting in March, the bank decided to end most of its unconventional easing measures, including negative interest rates and control over the 10-year Japanese government bond yield. It said it was more confident about achieving stable 2 per cent inflation thanks to healthy wage growth recently.

In contrast to the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank, which are expected to begin cutting rates as soon as this year, market watchers in Japan are debating when – or even if – the BOJ might make further rate increases.

In its quarterly outlook released Friday, the BOJ expressed the view that inflation is likely to stick around the bank’s 2 per cent target over the next three years.

– Dow Jones

12:17 pm April 26, 2024

ASX 200 down 1.4pc, BHP weighs

Megan Neil

The ASX 200 is down 1.4 per cent to 7577.10 points, following Wall Street lower as heavyweight miner BHP's fall weighs on the bourse.

All sectors are in the red with real estate leading the falls with a drop of 2.3 per cent, as the heavyweight mining and banking sectors also drag down the bourse.

BHP is down 4.4 per cent to $43.23, as investors react to its $41bn bid for rival Anglo American's assets in a bold play to reshape its global copper footprint.

But the world's largest gold miner Newmont jumps 13 per cent to $65.19 after its first-quarter profit beat market estimates.

Newmont is the best performer among ASX 200 stocks, followed by ResMed's 7.5 per cent lift to $30.63 after its quarterly earnings beat analyst expectations.

Among the major banks, CBA is 1.6 per cent weaker at $113.21, Westpac falls 2 per cent to $25.67, NAB is down 1.1 per cent at $33.64 and ANZ loses 1.8 per cent to $28.02.

Furniture retailer Nick Scali jumps 11.5 per cent to $15.69 after completing a $46m placement. Super Retail Group drops 4.7 per cent to $14.17 after revealing it faces a workplace claim for $30m to $50m from two employees.

The local declines also follow a sharp fall on Wall Street on the back of a slowing in US economic growth, hotter-than-expected inflation numbers and a plunge by Meta shares.US Treasury yields hit their highest level in more than five months amid expectations the Federal Reserve may wait before cutting interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed 1 per cent or 375 points weaker, after earlier plunging as much as 700 points.

11:30 am April 26, 2024 Highlight

Newmont jumps after beats estimates

Megan Neil

Newmont is the best performer on the ASX 200 after the world's biggest gold miner's first-quarter profit beat expectations.

Newmont's reported net income fell to $US179m in the first quarter, from $US363m in the previous corresponding period. Its sales rose to $US4.02bn, up from $US2.7bn in the previous first quarter.

The miner reported an adjusted net income of US55c per share for the March quarter, beating analyst estimates of US36c.

"Newmont delivered a strong first quarter operational performance, producing 2.2 million gold equivalent ounces and generating over $US1.4bn in cash from operations before working capital changes," Newmont chief executive Tom Palmer said.

"Underpinned by the gold industry's leading portfolio of Tier 1 gold and copper operations, we remain well-positioned to achieve our full-year guidance and deliver meaningful synergies and productivity improvements from the combined portfolio."

Newmont said it had delivered $US105m in synergies to date from its acquisition of Australia's Newcrest.

After rising as much as 14.8 per cent to $66.24, Newmont shares are now up 13 per cent to $65.21, in a sharply weaker overall market.

11:09 am April 26, 2024 Highlight

Racing Victoria CEO resigns

Yoni Bashan

Racing Victoria chief executive Andrew Jones has announced his resignation from the sporting body, in a shock announcement emailed to associates on Friday morning.

Jones said his exit was timed to provide the agency’s yet-to-be-named chair the opportunity to pick their own operational leader. Former AFL boss Gillon McLachlan is firming as a likely candidate to be picked for the role.

Jones had been the subject of longstanding criticism from some stakeholders, including billionaire racehorse owner Jonathan Munz, chairman of the Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners’ Association, and Victoria Racing Club CEO Steve Rosich.

Jones and some RV directors had been the subject of an unsuccessful boardroom putsch by Munz last month.

“I thank each and every one of you for your support over the past two years and beyond,” Jones wrote. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with you.”

Jones named several highlights from his time at the organisation, namely securing more than $2bn in funding for racing, enhanced equine welfare policies, increased support for jockeys and trainers and “the first metropolitan club merger in decades”.

“All the while managing through a very material drop in wagering across the industry.”

10:52 am April 26, 2024

Woolworths' $1.2m fine for underpayments

Angelica Snowden

Woolworths Group has been hit with a fine of $1.2m and its subsidiary Woolstar must pay $36,000 after pleading guilty to underpaying staff in Victoria long service leave entitlements.

The fines were handed down in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday morning, after the court heard about the under-fire company's failure to ensure state-by-state payroll compliance was "systematic" and "significant".

It comes after the company admitted last week it shortchanged 1235 former Victorian employees by $1.24m, as it failed to properly pay their long service entitlements.

The underpayments were between $250 and $12,000. The company admitted this took place between November 2018 and January 2023.

Woolworths Group and Woolstar self-reported to the Victorian Wage Inspectorate, and have previously said they paid back all the money.

The Wage inspectorate originally filed more than 1000 criminal charges against the companies in August last year.

10:49 am April 26, 2024

BHP drops on news of Anglo bid

Megan Neil

BHP shares are down as investors digest its $41bn deal to buy rival Anglo American's assets in a bold play to reshape its global copper footprint.

BHP confirmed the offer – likely to be the biggest resources deal in several years – to the London Stock Exchange late on Thursday, saying it would offer 0.7097 BHP shares for each Anglo share on issue.

The deal is conditional on the spin-out of Anglo American’s platinum and iron ore assets in South Africa to Anglo’s existing shareholders. BHP said the offer valued Anglo shares at a total value of £31.1bn – but BHP will pay only for the assets it wants.

On the London Stock Exchange, Anglo American shares jumped 16 per cent while BHP dipped more than two per cent.

On the ASX, BHP shares fell as much as 4.7 per cent to $43.12 and are now down 4 per cent to $42.42 in a sharply weaker overall market.

10:32 am April 26, 2024

ASX 200 falls 1.3pc, BHP down

Megan Neil

The ASX 200 falls 1.3 per cent to 7581.60 points in opening trading, as BHP declines after making its bold takeover bid for Anglo American and the local bourse follows Wall Street lower.

The real estate sector is leading the early declines in a sea of red, as falls by heavyweight miners and banks weigh on the bourse.

BHP is down 4.4 per cent to $43.23, as investors react to its $41bn bid for rival Anglo American's assets in a bold play to reshape its global copper footprint.

But Fortescue is up 1.4 per cent to $25.10 and Rio Tinto is flat at $129.40.

The world's largest gold miner Newmont jumps 14 per cent to $65.86 after its first-quarter profit beat market estimates.

The major banks are all weaker, with CBA down 1.1 per cent to $113.76, Westpac off 1.4 per cent to $25.83, NAB down 0.6 per cent to $33.79 and ANZ dropping 1.6 per cent to $28.09.

Furniture retailer Nick Scali jumps 10.9 per cent to $15.60 after completing a $46m placement. Super Retail Group drops 5.7 per cent to $14.03 after saying it expects to face a workplace claim for $30m to $50m from two employees.

The local declines also follow a sharp fall on Wall Street on the back of a slowing in US economic growth, hotter-than-expected inflation numbers and a plunge by Meta shares.US Treasury yields hit their highest level in more than five months amid expectations the Federal Reserve may wait before cutting interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed 1 per cent or 375 points weaker, after earlier plunging as much as 700 points.