Highlights
Market Recovery: The ASX200 has regained some ground, rising 0.1% to 8,212 points after yesterday’s losses.
Legal Developments: Coles and Woolworths are contesting ACCC allegations of sham discounting, attributing price changes to supplier requests amid inflation.
Sector Performance: The Staples sector leads gains, while Information Technology is the weakest performer, reflecting mixed results across industries.
The ASX200 index has seen a modest increase of 0.1%, now standing at 8,212 points, as the market attempts to recover from recent declines. Notably, the Staples sector has emerged as the best-performing category, up 1.3%, followed by the Discretionary sector, which has gained 0.6%. In contrast, the Information Technology sector has struggled, declining by 1.2%, while Health Care has also experienced a downturn of 0.6%.
Coles (ASX:COL) and Woolworths (ASX:WOW) are currently engaged in legal proceedings against the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which has alleged instances of sham discounting by the retailers. In their defense, both companies assert that many of the price increases cited by the ACCC were the result of requests from suppliers due to rising inflationary pressures. As a result of this legal battle, both stocks have seen an increase of 1.6%, with Coles trading at $18.20 and Woolworths at $33.05.
In company news, 4DMedical (ASX:4DX) has experienced a nearly 5% rise following the announcement of a grant from the Federal Government aimed at facilitating the expansion and ramp-up of clinical trials for its pulmonary perfusion test, CT
. The current trading price for 4DMedical stands at 54 cents.
On the downside, Playside Studios (ASX:PLY) has faced a significant decline of 28%, as its guidance for FY25 fell considerably short of market expectations and prior fiscal year results. The stock is currently trading at 51.5 cents.
Additionally, Astral Resources (ASX:AAR) has reported a 2% increase, buoyed by positive drilling results at its Feysville project in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The recent drill intercept, although only 3 meters in length, has shown a gold grade of 177g/t, pushing Astral’s stock to 12.8 cents.