Australian Market Little Changed | Nasdaq

(RTTNews) – The Australian stock market is little changed on Wednesday following the mostly negative cues overnight from Wall Street and as investors digested mixed local corporate earnings results.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is down 4.40 points or 0.06 percent to 7,109.30 after rising to a high of 7,125.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is declining 4.50 points or 0.06 percent to 7,203.80. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Tuesday.

The major miners are mostly lower. BHP is declining more than 1 percent and Rio Tinto is down 0.4 percent.

Fortescue Metals reported a near four-fold surge in half-year profit and raised its interim dividend. The miner’s shares are advancing more than 1 percent.

In the banking space, Commonwealth Bank is declining almost 1 percent and Westpac is losing 0.7 percent, while ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.1 percent each.

Meanwhile, gold miners are notably higher after gold prices surged to a near seven-year high. Evolution Mining is higher by more than 4 percent and Newcrest Mining is gaining more than 3 percent.

Oil stocks are also mostly higher even as crude oil prices ended flat overnight. Santos is rising 0.7 percent and Woodside Petroleum is adding 0.5 percent, while Oil Search is unchanged.

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises reported a nearly 30 percent increase in first-half profit and raised its interim dividend. The fast food company’s shares are gaining almost 12 percent.

Wesfarmers reported a 6 percent increase in net profit from continuing operations not including leasing standards, but slashed its interim dividend payout. The conglomerate’s shares are rising more than 3 percent.

Caltex Australia said British retailer EG Group has offered to acquire the company for A$3.9 billion cash as well as separate shares to be issued in Ampol, a newly listed company on the ASX. Shares of Caltex Australia are advancing almost 1 percent.

Corporate Travel Management said its first-half net profit declined 14 percent from last year despite higher revenues and lowered its full-year underlying earnings outlook due to the disruption from the coronavirus on international travel. The company’s shares are higher by more than 3 percent.

Webjet said its statutory net profit for the first half fell 64 percent from last year on a write-off related to collapsed British travel group Thomas Cook, while revenue grew 24 percent. The travel agent’s shares are gaining more than 6 percent.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar is unchanged against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday. The local unit was quoted at $0.6691.

On Wall Street, stocks closed mostly lower on Tuesday as traders returned to their desks following the long holiday weekend. The weakness on Wall Street came after tech giant Apple warned of weaker than previously forecast second quarter revenue. Disappointing earnings news from Walmart also weighed on the markets after the retail giant reported weaker than expected fourth-quarter results and provided disappointing guidance.

The Nasdaq inched up 1.57 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 9,732.74, but the Dow slid 165.69 points or 0.6 percent to 29,232.39 and the S&P 500 fell 9.87 points or 0.3 percent to 3,370.29.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.5 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index slid by 0.7 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

Crude oil futures ended flat on Tuesday, with traders weighing the impact of the coronavirus on global energy demand and OPEC and allies’ move on production cuts. WTI crude for March ended at $52.05 a barrel, unchanged from the previous close.

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