ASX Market Close: Bourse pulls back from yesterday’s record as retail sales jump | October 1, 2024

The ASX200 closed 0.74% lower at 8,209 points.

The bourse pulled back from yesterday’s record close with a fall in commodity prices the key driver.

Retail sales data came in for August with total retail sales up 0.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis to $36.5 billion. This beat consensus expectations of 0.4%.

ABS head of business statistics Robert Ewing says the warmest August since 1910 may have contributed to higher spending.

To the sectors: Health Care was the biggest gainer, up 1.1%, followed closely by Utilities up 0.9%, and Telecommunication 0.7%. Materials was the biggest loser, down 2.3%, followed by Financials, which shed 1.2%.

In the Green

Sigma Healthcare (ASX:SIG) closed up more than 22% on reports it responded to ACCC around data protection should its merger with Chemist Warehouse proceed. It offered a court enforceable undertaking to address the issues.

Sigma Healthcare closed at $1.76.

Namoi Cotton (ASX:NAM) finished up more than 8% as the bidding war for the company heated up today. Suitor Louis Dreyfus increased its stake in the company to 47% and its offer price to 68 cents. Louis Dreyfus and rival Olam continue to compete for control of Namoi.

Namoi Cotton wrapped up at 77 cents.

And REA Group (ASX:REA) closed the day up 4.88% after it walked away from its fourth bid for Rightmove, a UK real estate listings site was rejected.

REA Group closed at $210.80.

In the Red

Qantas (ASX:QAN) dropped 3.37% after international aviation competitor Qatar Airways took a 25% stake in Virgin Australia. The move will fund Virgin’s return to international routes and could ramp up the rivalry with Qantas. The deal is subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval.

Qantas closed at $7.17.

BHP’s (ASX:BHP) five session winning streak has ended, as the big Australian closed down 2.87%. The fall aligns with a drop in the iron ore price, which is fetching $109.30 per tonne in Singapore.

BHP closed at $44.64.

Frontier Energy (ASX: FHE) sank heavily after its Waroona project failed to receive reserve capacity credits (RCC) from the Australian Energy Market Operator. The company reports this was due to a significant reserve capacity surplus. The company had 16.8 million shares traded today – more than 27 times the thirty-day average volume.

Frontier Energy closed at 12.5 cents.