ASX Closes Higher as BHP Rebounds, Tech Shares Advance
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3 per cent to 9153.20 after recovering from early losses, with BHP and technology stocks lifting the market. The advance came as Australian home-loan values recorded their largest quarterly drop since the series began in 2002.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.3 per cent higher at 9153.20 on Wednesday as BHP and technology shares helped erase early losses. The Australian sharemarket advanced despite falls on Wall Street and a sharp decline in new home-loan values.
Investors returned to BHP during the session, pushing the mining company from a 1.8 per cent loss to a 0.9 per cent gain. The materials sector also recovered, after weighing on the market earlier in the day.
The index added 24.20 points. It followed a 1.1 per cent gain on Tuesday. The Australian dollar rose 0.2 per cent to US68.77¢.
Home loans post record quarterly drop
The value of new Australian home loans fell 15.5 per cent in the three months through September, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed. It was the biggest quarterly decline since the series began in 2002, and nearly twice economists’ forecast.
The figures point to weaker borrowing demand amid the Reserve Bank’s interest rate increases to control inflation. The market’s gains came as investors weighed that housing data against a mixed session among major shares.
Bank shares split
Commonwealth Bank fell 1.2 per cent, surrendering early gains. The bank said its first-quarter profit rose 8 per cent to $2.8 billion, as business lending growth offset difficulty in mortgages during the housing slump.
National Australia Bank dropped 1.5 per cent. Westpac edged up 0.1 per cent, while ANZ Bank gained 1.4 per cent.
Macquarie Group lost 0.9 per cent. The company said it would pay a $14 million penalty after admitting it failed to prevent confusion among new savings-account customers over a “welcome rate” offer and did not respond to complaints in a timely manner.
Technology stocks climb
Technology shares rose as better-than-expected earnings from US AI computing provider CoreWeave helped sustain investor interest in artificial intelligence companies. WiseTech gained 2.5 per cent, Xero rose 1.8 per cent and Technology One added 0.6 per cent.
Family tracking app Life 360 jumped 10.1 per cent, recovering from a sell-off on Tuesday. Data-center operator NextDC moved in the opposite direction, falling 4 per cent.
CoreWeave raised its sales forecast above Wall Street estimates in its quarterly report after the US market closed. Its shares rose about 6 per cent in late trading in New York.
Miners and energy shares move higher
Rio Tinto finished 0.7 per cent higher. Gold miners were mixed: Northern Star Resources rose 0.4 per cent and Evolution Mining gained 1.3 per cent as gold prices turned up, while Newmont fell 2.5 per cent.
Oil shares also advanced as crude prices ticked higher in the afternoon. Brent crude traded above $US92.30 after briefly falling below $US90 a barrel overnight. Woodside rose 0.5 per cent and Santos gained 1.2 per cent.
IDP Education surged 16.3 per cent as its board considered a takeover bid from Blackstone. The company had previously rejected bids from the private equity firm, saying they undervalued it.
Adairs fell 2 per cent after warning that sales so far in its second quarter were down 1.5 per cent. The home furnishings company cited cost-of-living pressures and interest rate increases, saying the “consumer environment has become more challenging over the last six weeks”.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.4 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.3 per cent and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.7 per cent.
