ASX 200 plunges at open; Codan rallies over 16% amid 1H FY22 update

The Australian share market continues to be in a sell-off mode, plummeting at the open Tuesday, despite Wall Street taking a breeze and closing in green. Although the US markets ended higher on Monday, COVID-19 headwinds, geopolitical tension and the US Fed’s hawkish comments weighed on the markets during the first half of the session. The ASX 200 plunged 0.99% or 70.8 points to 7,070.3 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

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The selloff on Wall Street worsened in the first half on Monday, however, stocks recovered sharply from the day’s lows by the closing. Oil prices turned lower as rising geopolitical tensions and the Fed's plans to tighten monetary supply weighed on investors’ sentiments.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.29% to 34,364.51, while the S&P 500 closed 0.28% higher at 4,410.14. The NASDAQ Composite ended the session 0.63% higher at 13,855.14.

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How has the market performed so far?

As of 11:00 AM AEDT, the ASX 200 accelerated its downfall and plunged 1.77% or 126.7 points to 7,012.8, while the ASX All Ordinaries index was down 1.76% to 7,310.4. The A-VIX shot up by 8.92% to 18.99.

Data Source: ASX (as of 25 January 2022, 11:00 AM AEDT)

Coming to the top laggards, Beach Energy Limited (ASX:BPT) has tumbled 5.83% to AU$1.332, followed by Gold Road Resources Limited (ASX:GOR), which fell 4.33% to AU$1.435. On the flip side, Codan Limited (ASX:CDA) and The a2 Milk Company Limited (ASX:A2M) were the top gainers, rising 16.24% and 7.46%, respectively.

On the sectoral front, all 11 sectors were trading in the red zone. The financial and energy spaces were the biggest drags on the market, falling 2.05% and 2.04%, respectively.

Newsmakers

1. Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG)

• The management expects to ship between 180 million and 185 million tons of iron ore in FY22.
• For the first half, the company has shipped 47.5 million tonnes of iron ore.
• The company ended 1H FY22 with a net debt of US1.7 billion, after the payment of an FY21 final tax instalment of US$915 million.

2. Rio Tinto Limited (ASX:RIO)

• Rio Tinto, Turquoise Hill Resources (TRQ) and the Government of Mongolia have signed an agreement that will help move the Oyu Tolgoi project forward.
• The Oyu Tolgoi Board, comprising representatives of TRQ, Rio Tinto and Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi, which is wholly owned by the Government of Mongolia, have unanimously approved the commencement of underground operations.
• The Parliament of Mongolia has approved a resolution (Resolution 103) that resolves the outstanding issues that have been subject to negotiations with the Government of Mongolia for the last two years.

3. Codan Limited (ASX:CDA)

• Codan is about to post a record 1H FY22 with the net profit expected to rise to AU$50 million.
• Unaudited sales for the reported period stood at AU$257 million, a 32% increase over the previous period last year.
• The businesses acquired at the end of FY21, DTC and Zetron, both exceeded first-half profit expectations.

4. Myer Holdings Limited (ASX:MYR)

• The company’s total sales from 1 August 2021 to 1 January 2022 increased 12%.
• During the reported period, COVID-19-enforced store closures resulted in 27% of Department Store trading days lost.
• Group online sales for the five-month period continued to grow strongly and were 54.3% higher over the same period last year.

5. Beach Energy Limited (ASX:BPT)

• For Q2 FY22, the company produced 5.3 MMboe, a 7% decline over the previous quarter due to planned and unplanned downtime in Cooper Basin JV and natural field decline.
• Quarterly revenue rose 3% to AU$398 million due to higher realised gas and liquids prices.
• On the safety front, the company also completed seven years without a Lost Time Injury at its Otway Gas Plant.

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