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Australian shares experienced a midday dip on Wednesday, reflecting a broad decline in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index, which fell 49.5 points, or 0.6%, to 8,021.7. The drop was primarily driven by weaker performances in the energy and communication services sectors.
Sector Performance and Inflation Update
The energy sector struggled, impacted by a 2% drop in crude oil prices on Tuesday, despite a slight rebound on Wednesday. Woodside Energy (ASX:WDS) saw a 1% decrease in its share price, while Santos (ASX:STO) fell by 0.5%.
Local investors also focused on the monthly inflation indicator, which revealed that inflation slowed to 3.5% in the 12 months to July, down from 3.8% in June. This reading was slightly above the forecast of 3.4%. Following the inflation data, the Australian dollar rose to 68 cents, up from 67.83 cents.
Overnight, Wall Street closed modestly higher, driven by anticipation surrounding Nvidia’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) quarterly results. Nvidia’s shares rose 1.5% to $128.30 ahead of the results announcement scheduled for Thursday morning.
In commodities, crude oil prices fell further as Goldman Sachs revised its Brent price forecast, citing unexpected increases in OECD inventories and a lower value estimate for long-dated prices. Conversely, iron ore prices extended their rebound, trading above $100 per tonne.
Key Stocks in Focus
On the ASX, several stocks made notable moves:
- Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX:WOW) saw its shares rally by 1.9% after the supermarket giant announced a special dividend of 40 cents per share, exceeding market expectations. This special dividend, combined with a final dividend of 57 cents, brought the total dividend for the year to $1.44.
- Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (ASX:TAH) experienced a significant drop of 12.9% in its share price following the abandonment of its ambitious 2025 strategy. The company reported a net loss of $1.4 billion, driven by a major non-cash impairment related to its NSW and South Australian wagering assets.
- Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX:FLT) saw a modest increase of 1.8% in its share price after reporting a record total transaction value of $23.74 billion for the year ending June 30. This figure surpassed pre-COVID levels and marked a $1.8 billion increase from the previous year.
- Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) experienced a 1.1% decline in its share price, despite an 18% increase in net profit to $5.7 billion for fiscal 2024.
- Kelsian Group Ltd (ASX:KLS) saw its share price jump 3% following a 44.2% increase in revenue to over $2 billion. This growth was attributed to the acquisition of All Aboard America! Holdings, with profits rising by 176.2% to $58 million.
- APA Group Ltd (ASX:APA) recorded a 1.4% decrease in its share price, despite a 9.7% increase in underlying earnings for the full year. The growth was driven by the expansion of its east coast gas pipeline network and contributions from the recently acquired Pilbara Energy.
- Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Ltd (ASX:NEC) reported a 3% rise in its share price after addressing a weak TV advertising market that led to a $119 million revenue drop in its TV division. For FY24, Nine’s revenue totaled $2.62 billion, with a profit of $216.4 million, marking a 22% decline in profits.
The mixed performances among these ASX stocks reflect a dynamic day of trading influenced by corporate results and broader market trends.
