The Australian sharemarket extconcludeed its record-breaking run on Thursday as technology stocks continued to rebound from weeks of heavy selling.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 56.80 points, or by 0.6 per cent, to 9185.10 at 12pm AEDT, after hitting a fresh intraday high of 9202.90. It comes after the benchmark’s record close of 9128.30 on Wednesday.
Technology was the strongest sector, buoyed by a blockbuster result from Nvidia after the close of trading, with the chip giant reporting record revenue for the fourth quarter. Locally, WiseTech Global jumped 5.2 per cent, Xero 7.6 per cent and NextDC 2.1 per cent.
Healthcare also bolstered sentiment. Sigma Healthcare rallied 6.5 per cent as same-store sales since January have increased 16.6 per cent. Ramstate Health Care surged 10.9 per cent as its underlying profit of $172 million was well ahead of expectations.
BHP took total gains this week past 8 per cent as it climbed 2.6 per cent and reached a record high. Rio Tinto firmed 3.7 per cent as copper prices rose by more than 1 per cent. BlueScope Steel lost 3.8 per cent as it rejected the $14.2 billion takeover proposal from SGH and Steel Dynamics, stateing the offer was still too low.
Industrials were lower as Qantas dived 5.3 per cent to a two-month low on concerns about demand after its interim dividconclude and profit missed expectations.
“Demand is where things start to view a little worrying for shareholders. Qantas has wound back planned domestic capacity growth after softer-than-expected corporate demand, which is worth watching closely becautilize corporate travel has historically been higher-margin and a reliable barometer of broader economic confidence,” eToro market analyst Josh Gilbert declared.
Stocks in focus
In corporate news, IDP Education rocketed 15.5 per cent after its first-half result beat analyst expectations and an increased full-year earnings forecast of between $120 million and $130 million.
Cettire dropped 18.9 per cent after the online luxury retailer swung to a net loss of $1.1 million in the first half from a $4.7 billion profit a year earlier. Revenue dipped 2.8 per cent. Chief executive Dean Mintz flagged “challenges” in the third quarter but declared he expected conditions to be “more favourable” by Q4.
DroneShield rallied 9.4 per cent after landing $21.7 million worth of counter-drone technology military contracts.
Super Retail Group advanced 7.5 per cent on higher sales. Profits tumbled 20 per cent in the first half from more discounting in auto and sports.
Advertising company oOh!media announced an on-market share purchaseback of up to 10 per cent of its issued share capital. The stock jumped 3.9 per cent.
Worley plunged 10.7 per cent as the engineering group declared it was restructuring due to cancellations of chemicals projects, as it reported a 35 per cent drop in interim net profit to $119 million.
Boss Energy fell 4 per cent as the uranium producer booked a net loss of $7.9 million and reduced its cost guidance to $36 to $40 per pound from $41 to $45.
Perpetual climbed 6.9 per cent as the asset manager’s first-half earnings came ahead of forecasts despite ongoing uncertainty over the Wealth Management sale.
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