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ASX edges higher as US rate-cut hopes lift investor spirits
By Staff reporter
The Australian sharemarket failed to match a strong lead from Wall Street on Monday, edging only slightly higher as investors weighed the prospect of more US interest rate cuts against already stretched valuations.
Although Wall Street enjoyed a strong rally on Friday (US time), buoyed by comments hinting at rate cuts from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, the ASX 200 had a more sedate day on Monday, rising 5 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 8972.4 points.
US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for the Fed’s annual gathering of global central bankers this month.Credit: Bloomberg
While the market briefly hit an intraday high early in the day, boosted by a surge in the big miners, it drifted lower as key banking stocks retreated. The local market is just shy of the record high it reached late last week, and observers cautioned that share price gains have recently been driven higher by optimism over likely interest rate cuts, as opposed to profit growth.
Matt Sherwood, Perpetual’s head of investment strategy, multi-asset, said valuations were historically high for the US and Australian sharemarkets, and he was unconvinced the Fed would cut rates as deeply as the 125 basis points being priced in by markets. “The one word which describes the US market at the moment is expensive,” Sherwood said.
He said corporate earnings for the ASX as a whole had fallen by about16 per cent since the end of 2022, even as share prices had climbed sharply. “You’ve been paying record share prices for earnings that have not only gone backwards, but gone backwards at a rate of knots. Whereas the US earnings have thundered ahead.”
Macquarie strategists also said in a note that Australia’s sharemarket had hit new highs each week of the August reporting season, despite downgrades from stocks including JB Hi-Fi, CSL and Sonic Healthcare.
“This is because the market is not being driven by earnings, but by liquidity and the expectation of further rate cuts,” Macquarie said.
Wall Street rallied to its best day in months on Friday after the head of the Federal Reserve hinted that cuts to interest rates may be on the way, along with the kick they can give the economy and investment prices. The S&P 500 leaped 1.5 per cent for its first gain in six days and finished just shy of its all-time high.
Since the lows of April, Wall Street’s S&P500 has rallied by almost 30 per cent, and the ASX 200 is up by about 22 per cent.
AMP deputy chief economist Diana Mousina said the implied odds of a US rate cut next month had lifted to 87 per cent, compared with about 72 per cent last week. More broadly, she said markets had recovered in recent months because the hit from the Trump administration’s tariffs had not been as severe as feared.
“The data so far would suggest that tariffs are so far having a bit of an impact on producer prices … but it’s not causing a collapse in global trade, and it’s not causing a collapse in US consumer spending,” Mousina said.
The Australian dollar was trading at US64.96¢ at 5.27pm (AEST).
The lifters
Mining stocks roared higher, led by iron ore players as the price of the key steelmaking material climbed over the weekend. BHP jumped 2.7 per cent, Rio Tinto added 2.4 per cent and Fortescue rose 2.6 per cent. Fortescue will report its results on Tuesday.
Energy stocks also gained, with Santos adding 0.6 per cent as the company unveiled a sharp drop in profit while announcing it would extend its due diligence deadline with the Abu Dhabi consortium looking to take it over by four weeks. Woodside jumped 0.9 per cent.
Adore Beauty’s share price surged 12.8 per cent after announcing record earnings. Revenue lifted 1.6 per cent to $198.8 million as it opened four new stores over the year, introducing customers to the brand for the first time and encouraging existing customers to spend more. Fragrances, haircare and Korean beauty trends were enthusiastically snapped up; EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) rose 67.8 per cent to $8.1 million, while EBIT lifted 74.8 per cent to $4 million. Customer acquisition costs declined by $15 to $59 as it sought to bring in highly engaged customers.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank rose 1.1 per cent after it reported an 8.4 per cent fall in cash earnings, to $514.6 million, as its bottom-line felt the squeeze from soft income growth and rising expenses. In statutory terms, Bendigo made a $97.1 million loss due to an impairment of goodwill that it flagged last week.
The regional bank made a return on equity of 7.34 per cent, and chief executive Richard Fennell unveiled a target of lifting that figure to 10 per cent by 2030. Fennell said some key components of the strategy included a focus on operating simply and efficiently, deepening customer relationships, and a plan to “reinvent banking for a new generation” through Bendigo’s digital bank, Up.
The laggards
Drinks giant Endeavour shed 1.4 per cent after posting a 0.3 per cent decline in group sales to $12.1 billion. It was a tale of two businesses, as sales in its pubs and hospitality venues rose 4.1 per cent to $2.1 billion, supported by gambling revenue growth in Queensland and Victoria.
Its retail business, which includes Dan Murphy’s and BWS, fell 1.2 per cent to $10 billion, affected by cost-of-living pressures as well as strike action by Woolworths workers late last year. Group earnings fell 11 per cent to $926 million and net profit declined 15.8 per cent to $426 million after accounting for $11 million in restructuring costs.
Bank stocks retreated into the red after opening higher. Commonwealth Bank lost 1.5 per cent, ANZ fell 1.4 per cent, NAB shed 1.8 per cent and Westpac dropped 1.8 per cent. The falls were sparked by an announcement from the federal government that its home deposit guarantee scheme start date was changing from January 1 to October 1.
With AP
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