Good afternoon and welcome to the ASX Today, I’m Seja Al Zaidi. The ASX is backflipping a little today, reversing early gains after hotter than expected inflation put the Reserve Bank back in the spotlight.
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The market was up more than half a per cent before July’s CPI landed, but those gains quickly faded as traders ramped up bets on another rate hike.
The ASX 200 was fairly flat today after trading high in the morning. Headline inflation eased from 3.8 per cent in June to 3.5 per cent in July, but that was still above the 3.3 per cent economists had expected. That’s now put a September rate hike firmly back into consideration.
Woolworths is leading the consumer staples sector, surging 4 per cent after reporting strong profits and food sales.
WiseTech Global is once again weighing on the technology sector, plunging 9.1 per cent. It’s been a turbulent stock as it is and today’s earnings triggered a sell-off, mainly off the back of softer than expected CargoWise data. Its revenue growth of 11 per cent came in below the company’s 14 to 21 per cent guidance range.
Budget jewellery brand Lovisa is one of the market’s biggest winners, soaring 15.7 per cent after full-year revenue jumped 18 per cent to $938 million. DroneShield has fallen almost 12 per cent after reporting a $32 million loss for the half.
Engineering group Worley has plunged by a massive 10.7 per cent after full-year profit dropped 36 per cent to $238 million. It pointed to the Middle East conflict and significant restructuring costs as major pressures.
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises has tumbled 10.4 per cent after posting a $134 million full-year loss. In the travel sector, Flight Centre is down 5.9 per cent after revealing the Middle East conflict cost around $60 million in fourth-quarter profit. The company is also holding off on forward guidance until later this year.
Sandfire Resources has gained 8.6 per cent after reporting further high-grade copper hits around its MATSA operations in Spain and Motheo hub in Botswana. And, BHP is up 0.6 per cent after hitting an intraday record of $68.77.
Finally, Commonwealth Bank is down 0.2 per cent after reaching an agreement to settle a class action launched in 2018 for nearly $250 million.
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