Christmas has come early for the bank’s shareholders with the decision to slightly increase the 2024 dividend – despite a single-digit decline in the net profit and cash earnings.
Beating the market benchmark is never easy, with 72 per cent of Australian actively managed global equity general funds trailing the S&P World Index in the six months to June 30, 2024. Domestic equity funds performed slightly better, albeit against a significantly lower bar set by the S&P/ASX 200 Index.
Market rallies despite volatile backdrop, technology outperforms, Origin buyback
The S&P/ASX200 (ASX: XJO) has delivered another positive day despite the incredibly negative backdrop with issues ranging from inflation to commodity price uncertainty and the Ukraine invasion.
The market finished 1 per cent higher with the technology and communication sectors central to the performance, up 3.2 and 2.4 per cent respectively.
The highlights of today were mainly the lowlights of yesterday, with Telix (ASX: TLX) and Life360 (ASX: 360) gaining more than 7 per cent each.
Given the level of volatility, it is worth putting in a context that the Australian market is down just 7 per cent since the beginning of the year and the S&P500 13 per cent despite the difficult geopolitical conditions.
Origin Energy gained 1.4 per cent on a difficult day for energy companies after management highlighted their “belief in decarbonisation” and continued to commit to cleaner energy sources.
A ‘robust’ start to the year saw the group announce a $250 million on-market buyback which will support the share price in the short term.
Insurance struggles, IAG flags claims, Aristocrat sees limited Ukraine risk
Shares in nickel producer Nickel Mines (ASX: NIC) ended down just 4.8 per cent despite entering a trading halt during the day.
One of the major shareholders, Tsinghan, has been embroiled in the short squeeze occurring in Nickel trading in London which has seen the share price surge more than 100 per cent in just a few days.
They confirmed the company has no intention to sell their shares nor will it have an impact on operations.
Experts are now estimating as much as $3 billion in insurance claims from the East Coast flooding, with an additional risk being whether the NSW storms are considered a separate event for reinsurance purposes.
Insurance Australia Group (ASX: IAG) has confirmed their net cost of claims will be around $74 million, less than the $95 million estimates, with reinsurance policies covering a significant amount of the risk.
The company reaffirmed guidance for margins between 10 and 12 per cent.
Shares in gambling machine maker Aristocrat (ASX: ALL) jumped 4 per cent after indicating that do not expect a material impact on earnings despite the invasion of Ukraine despite 1,000 staff and contractors being located in the region.
Market bounces on Ukraine concessions, commodities fall, tech gains
As news that bombing ramped up in Ukraine spread around the world, the Ukrainian President spoke publicly about a willingness to concede to Russia on both NATO and territory claims sending sharemarkets around the world higher.
The European markets had their best day in two years, with the DAX and French CAC 40 gaining more than 7 per cent each primarily driven by a rally in the under pressure banking sector.
The story extended to the US, with the Nasdaq gaining 3.6 per cent, the S&P500 2.6 and the Dow Jones 2 per cent.
The Dow underperformed after the oil price fell by more than 12 per cent in hopes of a resolution.
Consumer brand Adidas (LON: ADS) was a winner despite reporting a 24 per cent fall in sales to China, but guiding towards a recovery.
The divergence between tech companies was also on show, with dating app Bumble (NYSE: BMBL) jumping more than 40 per cent after announcing a more than 20 per cent jump in users.
