An office worker talks on his phone as he looks the stock board at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) building in central Sydney June 15, 2012.
An office worker talks on his phone as he looks the stock board at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) building in central Sydney June 15, 2012. Reuters/Daniel Munoz
  • Local shares are retreating on Thursday, following weak leads from the US and Europe. The ASX 200 (XJO) is down 63 points or 1.2 percent at mid-session.
  • A slew of companies have announced earnings results today, including Brambles (BXB), AMP (AMP), Tatts Group (TTS) and Adelaide Brighton (ABC) to name a few.
  • Qantas (QAN) shares are rising in a falling market after the airline posted a FY net profit of $557 million. That compares to a record $2.8 billion loss a year ago. Qantas did not declare a dividend. However, it will return $505 million to shareholders through a 23 cent per share cash distribution. QAN shares are up 0.4 percent.
  • Wesfarmers (WES) shares are also improving. WES has posted an 8.3 percent lift in underlying profit to $2.44 billion thanks to strong earnings growth in its retail portfolio which includes Coles, Bunnings and Officeworks. WES shares are 1.5 percent firmer.
  • Investors are selling off Origin Energy (ORG) shares after the energy retailer posted a FY net loss of $658 million. That compares with a profit of $530 million in 2013/14. The loss included a $705 million impairment charge relating to its upstream oil-and-gas assets. ORG is down 11.5 percent.
  • Other energy plays are also under pressure, after the price of oil slumped to 6.5 year lows due to a surprise rise in US inventories. Woodside Petroleum (WPL) is off 4.1 percent.
  • The Australian dollar remains on a similar footing to Wednesday, buying US$0.734.

Elvina Simpson - (Author)

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