ASX Market Open: Rally tipped to start the week | August 26, 2024

The ASX200 is set to start the week with a rally, adding about half a per cent after Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell confirmed there’d be interest rate cuts, and, the threat of war in the Middle East subsided.

Powell’s stance at the annual Jackson Hole event all but secures a September cut – the question remains as to by how much.

US markets rallied on that news on Friday: The Nasdaq rising 1.4%, and the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones, by 1.1%.

Back home, earnings reporting continues:

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (ASX:BEN) is paying a 63c dividend – which is 2 cents higher this year after reporting cash earnings down 2.6% to $562 million, but net profit after tax (NPAT) was up nearly 10% to $545 million.

Data service company Veris (ASX:VRS) reported a loss after tax of $4.7 million, citing challenging conditions and a strategy shift for revenue being down about 8%.

But Veris holds more than $16 million to explore merger and acquisition opportunities.

Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) has reported revenue of $1.25B, nearly 70% lower than FY23. It’s blaming commodity prices, but says that pain was offset by 16% larger sales volumes. While EBITDA of $538M was 84% lower, it reported a profit after tax that was 89% lower at $257 million.

Commodities and $

Iron Ore is down to just above US$98 a tonne ($98.05); Gold is at US$2514 an ounce; brent crude’s around US$79.50 a barrel; and natural gas is down at just above US$2 a gigajoule ($2.01).

One Aussie dollar is buying US67.9 cents.