Australian Stock Market Report - Midday August 20, 2015
- 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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