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The ASX 200 closed a reasonable 1% up, at 8,200, as the week before Christmas brings what could really, actually, finally be a Santa Rally Down Under.
Financials led the way at 4pm, up 2.11% to end the day, followed by Discretionary, up 1.95%, and Real Estate, up 1.94%. Every sector ended in the green, with Healthcare (up just 0.6%) the laggard on Monday.
Part of the reason Financials flew so well on Christmas Eve eve was Australia’s usual powerhouses, the big four banks: The Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) rose as much as 2.52% through today while NAB (ASX:NAB), Westpac (ASX:WBC), and ANZ Group (ASX:ANZ) gained +1.79%, +1.74%, and 2.36%.
News Corp (ASX:NWS) and Telstra (ASX:TLS) were both up today – 3.40% and 1.01% respectively – after the blockbuster news that the companies were selling their split shares in Foxtel to British streaming giant DAZN for $3.4 billion.
News Corp closed at $50.73 while Telstra last sold for $4.02.
Super Retail Group (ASX:SUL) was also among Monday’s winners after whistleblower Rebecca Farrell had her case against the retail super group dismissed by Justice Michael Lee in the Federal Court this morning.
SUL gained 4.34% through trade today to close at $15.40 a share.
Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) also added $6.50 per share, up to $255.15, after banking another $30 million contract for its “full stack” Visage product over the weekend.
Elsewhere today, dual lithium and nickel miner IGO Limited warned investors it wouldn’t be paying dividends through FY25 as minerals begin piling up at its Kwinana refinery; it is struggling to sell the battery materials.
That dour news actually saw IGO lift 1.2% though, to $4.86.
The long-awaited Santa rally didn’t manage to wash the entire Aussie bourse green though, with EML Payments diving 21.11% after the company alerted the market it had shown new CEO Ron Hynes the door. The global pay company had only selected Hynes for the top job midway through this year.
GQG Partners (ASX:GQG) also lost ground today to the tune of a 5.5% drop as punters mused about the fund manager’s Adani Group investments.
Do remember too, the ASX closes early tomorrow – trade stops at 2.10pm.
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