ASX Market Close: Financials lead index higher | January 16, 2025

The ASX200 closed up 1.38% at 8,327 points.

Unemployment ticked up to 4%, in line with consensus expectations. The strong jobs data has increased the threshold on what the RBA will need to see in the December quarter inflation numbers for any chance of a February rate cut.

Moody’s Harry Murphy Hughes says underlying inflation at or under 3.2% year on year (0.5% quarter on quarter) would probably do the trick. And anything above that would likely see the board wait until May. Moody’s expect underlying inflation to come in at 3.3%.

The Financials sector was the best performer, up 2.5%, followed by Real Estate, up 2.25%, and IT, up 1.8%.

In the Green

Helios Energy (ASX:HE8) closed up 14.3% after an independent contingent resource report confirmed hydrocarbon resources at the Presidio Project in West Texas.

Helios Energy finished at 1.6 cents.

Life360 (ASX:360) closed up 2.5% after analysts at Morgan Stanley retained their overweight rating and $25 price target. The broker is expecting another strong earnings result and believes the market is under-appreciating the company’s huge subscriber base and growth potential.

Life360 wrapped up at $21.74.

BHP (ASX:BHP) closed up 0.5% after finalising a major acquisition with Lundin Mining, securing the full ownership of Filo Corp. and establishing a joint venture for the Filo del Sol and Josemaria copper projects in Argentina and Chile.

BHP called it a day at $39.98.

In the Red

Vulcan Energy (ASX:VUL) closed down 3.9% with no news out today. On Monday the company announced its production of Lithium Hydroxide Monohydrate (LHM) has met product purity specifications at its plant in Germany.

Vulcan Energy closed at $5.97.

Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) closed down 0.6% after Goldman Sachs downgraded the company from “buy” to “neutral,” with a slightly improved price target of $10.40. The broker considers the stock fully valued after recent strong performance with risk for negative consensus valuation revisions on higher cash tax payments in FY25.

Origin Energy closed at $11.12.

Dimerix (ASX:DXB) closed down 1% after recruiting its first paediatric patient for the Phase 3 ACTION3 clinical trial in a major next step for the research.

Dimerix closed at 51.5 cents.