ASX 200 opens in green; Incitec Pivot, Janus Henderson lead gains

The Australian share market opened on a higher note on Wednesday, tracking an overnight green session on Wall Street as investors seem to be fully prepared ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s potential rate hike decision, where markets expect a 50-basis-point increase. The benchmark ASX 200 index jumped 0.68% or 50 points to 7,366.2 in the first 10 minutes of trading, while the ASX All Ordinaries index was up 0.6% to 7,633. The A-VIX fell 11.35% to 15.33.

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Global stock markets closed higher on Tuesday, while 10-year US Treasury yields retraced a bit from the around ~3% highs as market participants are expecting the US Fed to hike rates, highest single-day hike since 2000.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up by 0.2% to 33,128.8., while the S&P 500 gained 0.48% to end at 4,175.47 points. The NASDAQ Composite ended the session 0.22% higher at 12,563.76.

Winners & losers

Coming to the top ASX 200 gainers, Incitec Pivot Limited (ASX:IPL) and Janus Henderson Group PLC (ASX:JHG) were leading the pack, gaining 3.86% and 3.67%, respectively. On the flip side, ARB Corporation (ASX:ARB) and Costa Group Holdings (ASX:CGC) were the top losers, falling 10.41% and 6.2%, respectively. 

On the sectoral front, eight out of the 11 sectors were trading in the green with the materials sector leading with a gain of 0.54%, followed by a 0.25% gain in the financial space. The consumer sector is the worst performing sector so far in the day, falling 0.07%.

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Newsmakers

1. Nickel Mines Limited (ASX:NIC)

• The company has further increased its stake in Oracle Nickel by 20%, totalling to a 30% stake now.
• The company issued 108.12 million shares to its largest shareholder, Shanghai Decent, at AU$1.37 per share to raise capital required to secure higher stake.
• As a result, Shanghai Decent now holds a 21.15% stake in Nickel Mines.

2. Seven West Media Limited (ASX:SWM)

• The company upgraded its EBITDA guidance for FY22, from AU$315 million-AU$325 million to AU$335 million-AU$340 million.
• The earnings upgrade reflects the strength of advertising markets and the ongoing success of Seven’s broadcast and digital businesses.
• The recent acquisition of Prime Media Group, coupled with the winning performance of the Seven broadcast television business is one of the factors powering guidance upgrade.

3. humm Group Limited (ASX:HUM)

• humm group clocked a volume of AU$871.1 million in Q3 FY22, up 31.5% over Q3 FY21.
• humm group’s total customers stood at 2.73 million, as at 31 March 2022, a reduction on December 2021 as a result of the run-off in legacy cards and retail leasing products.
• Australia Cards volume was recorded at AU$134.7 million in Q3 FY22, up 28.6% over the pcp due to the return of volumes from the travel vertical.

4. Nearmap Limited (ASX:NEA)

• The company reported its annual contract value (ACV) portfolio is at the upper end of FY22 guidance of AU$155 million to AU$160 million.
• The ACV portfolio stood at AU$128.2 million in FY21.
• Commercial production of HyperCamera3 systems is on track and its rollout has begun in AU and NZ.

5. Ooh!Media Limited (ASX:OML)

• In a Macquarie Investors conference, the company said the next wave of growth is tied to better use of digital and continued digitisation.
• Significant road growth despite COVID-19 demonstrates advertising markets’ rapid transition to digital Out Of Home.
• oOh! has the leading Out Of Home market share position in Australia and New Zealand, at 44%.

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