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Highlights
- The Australian equity markets opened on a positive note today.
- In the initial few minutes of trading, the benchmark index ASX 200 was up 0.27% at 7,164.90 points.
- Seven of 11 sectors traded higher today, with the Materials sector leading the gains.
The Australian share market edged higher on Monday (23 May) despite weak performance on Wall Street for almost a seventh consecutive weeks. This is the first trading session of the Australian equity market following a leadership change in the country. After nearly a decade of coalition rule, the Labor party is set to form the new government in Australia.
In the initial few minutes of trading, the benchmark index ASX 200 was up 0.27% at 7,164.90 points.
Concerns related to rising inflation and an increase in the interest rates are two important reasons that have considerably impacted the US stock market this year so far.
The benchmark index last closed 1.15% higher to 7,145.6 points.
Also read : VRX Silica (ASX:VRX) purchases two key pieces of plant equipment for Arrowsmith North
Seven of 11 sectors were trading in the green territory today, with the Materials leading the gains at one point during the early trading session. It is believed that the export centric miners have benefitted from higher iron ore prices owing to additional policy support from China.
The ASX All Ordinaries index was up 0.36% to 7,417.7 at 10:17 AM AEST.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.028% to 31,261.90, while the S&P 500 was 0.015% higher at 3,900.79. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ Composite closed the session 0.30% lower at 11,354.62 points.
Coming to the top ASX 200 gainers, Codan Limited (ASX:CDA) and Elders Ltd. (ASX:ELD) led the pack with 10.814% and 6.934% gains, respectively. On the flip side, ZIP Co Limited (ASX:Z1P), Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX:RMS) were the top losers, falling 2.151% and 1.499%, respectively.
Newsmakers:
Codan Limited (ASX:CDA)
Codan Limited shares will be in focus on Monday (23 May) on account of the business update announced by the company on the ASX board. The company has stated that in view of the unforeseen challenges in supply chains which could still impact revenues and profitability, it is expecting the record FY22 first-half profit of $50 million to be matched in the second half of FY22.
Perenti Global Limited (ASX:PRN)
Today the share price of ASX-listed mining services company Perenti Global Limited will be in the watchlist as the company has narrowed its FY22 guidance in an Earnings update announced today. Stating that the market conditions have not yet materially improved, the company has revised its FY22 EBIT(A) to between $170 million and $175 million. Earlier, in February this year the company had said that it was expecting an EBIT(A) of between $165 million and $185 million.
Incitec Pivot Limited (ASX:IPL)
Incitec shares will remain on investors’ radar today after the company issued a slew of announcements on the ASX board today.
Incitec Pivot has announced its intention to implement a structural separation of its Incitec Pivot Fertilisers and Dyno Nobel businesses to create two separately listed companies on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Meanwhile, in its first-half results announced today, Incitec has reported Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) of AU$384m for 1H22, an increase of AU$348m compared to AU$36m in 1H21.
During this period, the company’s earnings per share (EPS) reached 19.8 cents per share, up 17.9 cents per share from 1.9 cents per share on pcp.
Also Read: Codan (ASX:CDA) expects record profit despite global market uncertainties
Elders Ltd. (ASX:ELD)
On Monday (23 May), Australian agribusiness Elders released its half-year results for the six months to 31 March 2022.
The company has delivered 80% EBIT growth, a 36% increase in underlying earnings per share and announced a 40% increase in interim dividend to 28 cents per share. The company’s full-year underlying EBIT guidance has been upgraded to 30% to 40% above the prior financial year.
