The local share market has finished higher for a fourth day in a row, this time amid solid gains for Coles and plumbing group Reece.
Just as it did Feb. 26, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Feb. 27 shrugged off its midday losses to close slightly higher, rising 10.2 points, or 0.13 per cent, to an eight-day peak of 7,663.0.
The broader All Ordinaries rose 14.1 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 7,922.2.
Six of the ASX’s 11 sectors finished higher and five closed lower.
Consumer staples was the biggest mover, rising 2.2 per cent on strong gains for Coles and Endeavour Group
Coles finished up 5.5 per cent to a six-month high of $16.75 (US$10.97) after the supermarket group announced better-than-expected earnings that eToro market analyst Josh Gilbert said would have shareholders breathing a sigh of relief.
“Following Woolworths’ results last week, investors would have been anxious to see these numbers today (Feb. 27), but this was a robust result in the face of ongoing headwinds and plenty of public scrutiny,” Mr. Gilbert said.
Dan Murphy’s and BWS owner Endeavour added 5.1 per cent to a one-week high of $5.34 (US$3.56), bouncing back from Monday’s (Feb. 26) losses and then some.
In industrials, Reece soared 18.3 per cent to $28.50 (US$18.67) after the bathroom and kitchen supplier said its net profit was up six per cent to $224 million (US$146.76 million) for the six months to December 31.
“We delivered a very solid HY24 result, underpinned by our resilient business model and strong ongoing execution by our team,” chief executive Peter Wilson said.
The Big Four banks all finished higher, with CBA adding 1.0 per cent to $117.12, Westpac adding 0.8 per cent to $26.25 and ANZ and NAB both up 0.5 per cent, to $28.51 and $34.08 respectively.
The heavyweight mining sector dipped 0.4 per cent, with Fortescue falling 1.2 per cent to $27.52, BHP climbing 0.2 per cent to $44.04 and Rio Tinto advancing 0.5 per cent to $123.13.
Goldminer Newmont fell 3.8 per cent and Evolution dropped 2.7 per cent as the precious metal changed hands around $US2,034 an ounce.
CSR rose 5.0 per cent to $8.80 after the building materials company agreed to be acquired by French rival Saint-Gobain for $9 per share, or $4.3 billion.
Woodside climbed 0.9 per cent to $30.28 after the oil and gas giant slashed its dividend and reported a sharply reduced annual profit due to lower commodity prices, inflationary pressures and asset writedowns.
DGL plunged 40.8 per cent to an all-time low of 61c after the chemical manufacturing and distribution company, which listed in 2021, announced its first-half profit had fallen 14 per cent to $5.9 million.
Brainchip continued its volatility, falling 34.7 per cent to 32c after the AI chipmaker announced it incurred a full-year loss of $US28.9 million, up from $US22.1 million in 2022.
Zip, Tyro Payments, John Lyng and City Chic Collective all fell by between 10 and 14.4 per cent after relasing their first-half earnings reports, while Readytech Holdings dropped 8.9 per cent.
On the flip side, G8 Education, Appen and Helia Group all rose on their results, by 11.6, 15.5 and 7.8 per cent respectively.
The Australian dollar was buying 65.47 US cents, from 65.56 US cents at Monday’s ASX close.
Cryptocurrencies were surging, with Bitcoin trading for more than $US56,000 for the first time in more than two years.
The original cryptocurrency was changing hands for more than $A86,000 on Australian exchanges, up nearly 10 per cent from 24 hours ago.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Tuesday (Feb. 27) up 10.2 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 7,663.0
* The broader All Ordinaries gained 14.1 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 7,922.2.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 65.47 US cents, from 65.56 US cents at Monday’s (Feb. 26) ASX close
* 98.53 Japanese yen, from 98.60 yen
* 60.35 Euro cents, from 60.56 Euro cents
* 51.63 British pence, from 51.75 pence
* 106.17 NZ cents, from 106.26 NZ cents.
