ASX 200  down 9 to 7502 Good result given 30 points of losses in BHP.

  • HIGH 7533 LOW 7471 Results lift mood.

MAJOR MOVERS:

Winners: RDC PME MAF IAP PGH BWX DMP

Losers: 88E BHP ABR STX CEN ADT SPL SGM

  • POSITIVE SECTORS: Banks. Industrials. REITs Healthcare (ex CSL)
  • NEGATIVE SECTORS: BHP/RIOResources Gold Miners.
  • BIG BANK BASKET: Up to $181.68
  • ALL -TECH INDEX: Up 1.17%% APT down 0.7%
  • GOLD: Rallies to AUD $2466
  • BITCOIN: US$45166 Drifting lower.
  • AUD: Eases to 72.61c. 10-YEAR YIELD: Steady at 1.13%
  • ASIAN MARKETS: Tokyo up 0.4% Hong Kong up 0.7%, China up 0.7%.
  • US FUTURES: Dow futures flat. NASDAQ up 16.

ASX 200 put in a good day to day despite NSW CV19 cases, despite US weakness and BHP falls. The ASX 200 fell 9 points to 7502 (0.1). BHP alone accounted for 33 negative points. It was all about results. In general, they were positive. Brokers pronounced sentence on a few with ‘ho humness’ following yesterdays drop with BRG continuing lower, MFG also under pressure but DMP delivered up 7.1%, PGH rose 8.3%, PME another doing well up 15.7% and a delisting for RDC saw them soar 18.1%. The banks saved the day with CBA up 0.8% and WBC up 1.4%. MQG joined in the fun, buoyed by the BHP news, the big miner though fell 7.1% as the arbitrageurs were unleashed, and the PLC discount started to close. RIO fell 2.3% in sympathy, it too has a dual listed non fungible structure which may see some call for a change to the structure. Industrials also did well, TLS up 1.0%, WOW up 0.8% and ALL doing ‘nicely nicely’. CSL struggled on traffic and margin issues and some weaker guidance falling 1.5%.

STOCKS ON THE MOVE

  • RDC +18.09% delisting proposal.
  • PME +15.66% results cheer.
  • DMP +7.13% is Don. Is good.
  • PGH +8.27% shrugs off cost increases.
  • DHG +6.13% broker upgrades.
  • PPK +4.18% Li-S IPO bringing cheer.
  • 88E – 9.76% patience wears thin.
  • BHP -7.07% arbitrage kicks off.
  • AKP -3.89% tiny volume as usual.
  • 29M -4.07% profit taking.
  • JMS -5.00% boardroom battles continue.
  • SZL -5.00% bad debts increase.
  • BAP -4.82% happy to have sold.
  • 4DS -11.43% sell off continues. It’s complicated.
  • KLL -13.95% Feasibility study completed.
  • BBT +12.21% competitor write up.
  • PDI -6.90% gold sell off.
  • AMS +17.12% results RAW video product killing it.
  • GLB +7.26% results a shoe in.
  • AXE +2.87% volatility continues.
  • Speculative Stock of the Day: Nothing interesting.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • BHP (BHP) -7.07% Huge announcement; Merging its oil and gas assets with WPL. Scrapping Dual listing. Massive $US17bn underlying profit, the third biggest since Australia’s BHP merged with London-listed Billiton in 2001. Shareholders will receive a better than expected final dividend of $US2 per share, taking total dividends in the year to a record $US3.01. Iron ore contributed around 80% of its profit. BHP will enter the potash market too. Mike Henry is very excited about this move. UK holders will be happy with the collapse of the dual listing and ASX will be its primary listing. Up 8.2% in London trade early but that may be the dual listing bounce. Early days.
  • Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (FPH) +3.59% Revenue for first 4 months NZ$538m, -2% vs year ago. FY22 trading update (constant currency): Hospital revenue -3% vs year ago. Hardware sales -13% and homecare revenue up 4% over the same period. Hospital hardware revenue is not expected to continue at elevated levels. Notes hospital consumables sales will continue to be impacted by Covid hospitalisation rates
  • Fletcher Building (FBU) -2.29% Full-year EBIT NZ$669m ex-items vs consensus NZ$664.6m. Revenue NZ$8.12bn vs consensus NZ$8.00bn. Final dividend 18c, bringing full-year FY21 dividend to 30c. Share buyback programme of up to NZ$300m started in June, will continue through FY22. Activity pipeline in NZ continues to look “stronger for longer,” especially in Residential. The macro backdrop in Australia is supportive for growth; Residential outlook strong, detached housing and renovations supportive offset by apartments sector; Commercial and key civil sectors stabilising at current levels.
  • Spark New Zealand (SPK) +0.44% Full-year net profit NZ$384m vs consensus NZ$390.4m. Revenue NZ$3.59bn vs consensus NZ$3.65bn. Capex NZ$354m vs guidance NZ$350m. Final dividend 12.5c. FY22 guidance: EBITDAI NZ$1.13-1.16bn, capex ~NZ$400m and dividend of 25c
  • Amcor (AMC) +2.41% Full-year adjusted EPS US74c in line with consensus. Revenue US$12.86bn vs consensus US$12.74bn. In FY22 see adjusted EPS growth of approximately 7 to 11% on a comparable constant currency basis. Expects adjusted free cash flow of approximately US$1.1 to US$1.2bn.
  • Brambles (BXB) +1.00% Full-year underlying profit US$557.7m vs consensus US$551.5m.Revenue US$5.21bn vs consensus US$5.14bn. Final dividend US10.5c, 30% franked.
  • ANZ (ANZ) +0.18% June Basel III pillar 3 report: Level 2 Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio 12.2% vs quarter-ago 12.4%. Total provision for credit impairment $4.99bn vs quarter-ago $5.09bn.
  • CSL (CSL) -1.47% Full-year profit US$2.38bn vs consensus US$2.32bn.Revenue US$10.31bn vs consensus US$10.12bn. Final dividend of US$1.18 per share. Total full year dividend increased to US$2.22 per share, +10%y/y. In FY22 sees profit of US$2.15-2.25bn at constant currency.
  • Super Retail Group (SUL) -1.07% Full-year adjusted net profit $308.0m vs consensus $311.5m.Revenue $3.45bn vs consensus $3.47bn. Final dividend 55c.
  • Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (DMP) +7.13% Full-year profit $188.2m vs consensus $187.9m. Revenue $2.20bn vs consensus $2.17bn. Dividend 85.1c, 70% franked. FY22 Outlook: Dividend payout ratio to be increased to 80%, from 70% of underlying NPAT (after MI), from H2 21 onwards. FY22 will be a record year for store expansion: adding organic & acquired stores. 3-5 Year Outlook: Annual same store sales growth +3-6%, unchanged. Organic new store openings annually +9-12% vs prior +7-9%. Annual net capex $100-150m vs prior $60-100m.
  • Nearmap (NEA) – unchanged – Full-year profit -$18.8m vs consensus -$23.5m. Revenue $106.4m vs consensus $113.5m. EBITDA $24.3m vs consensus $22.1m.
  • Tabcorp Holdings (TAH) -0.82% Full-year underlying profit $399m vs consensus $393.3m. Revenue $5.69bn vs consensus $5.59bn. Final dividend 7.0c/share, fully franked.
  • Woodside Petroleum (WPL) -2.12% First half underlying profit US$354m vs year-ago US$303m. Revenue US$2.50bn vs year-ago US$1.91bn. Interim dividend US$0.30/share (fully franked). FY Guidance: Production guidance 90-93MMboe vs previous 90-95MMboe. Production costs US$450-550m and trading costs US$1.1-1.3bn.
  • Southern Cross Media Group (SXL) +5.18% Full-year profit $48.1m vs consensus $47.5m. Revenue $529.1m vs consensus $547.5m. Second half dividend 5c.
  • Abacus Property Group (ABP) +2.46% Full-year funds from operations 18.4c vs consensus 17c. Final distribution of 9.0c/security, bringing full-year payout to 17.5c/security in line with guidance. NTA 343c/security. FY22 outlook: Given the prevailing market conditions, expects that the FY22 full year distribution will reflect a payout ratio broadly in line with the target range of 85-95% of FFO.
  • Bapcor (BAP) -4.82% Full-year pro forma profit $130.1m vs consensus $126.9m. Revenue $1.76bn vs consensus $1.73bn. Dividend 11c, fully franked. FY22 Outlook: Aims to deliver pro forma earnings at least at the level of FY21; however, this is dependent on the extent of lockdowns and other government imposed restrictions.
  • Netwealth Group (NWL) -4.81% Full-year profit $54.1m vs consensus $55.4m. Revenue $144.9m vs consensus $148.3m. Full-year dividend 9.5c. At 16-Aug FUA had risen to $49.7bn, FUM $12.4bn and MA $10.5bn. Based on current mix of inflows, not expecting changes to admin fee margins in FY22 from H2-FY21.
  • Coles Group (COL) +0.05% Full-year EBIT $1.87bn vs consensus $1.87bn. Revenue $38.56bn vs consensus $38.58bn. Final dividend 28c vs year-ago 27.5c. In FY22 sees, capex up to $1.4bn.
  • Vicinity Centres (VCX) +1.91% Full-year funds from operations $558.8m vs year-ago $520.3m. Revenue $1.17bn. NTA per security 213c vs year-ago 229c. Full-year distribution 6.6c.

ECONOMIC NEWS/ BOND MARKETS

  • NSW records 633 new local cases. NZ cases came from NSW.
  • RBNZ leaves rates unchanged.

ECONOMIC DATA

  • The seasonally adjusted Wage Price Index (WPI) rose 0.4% in June quarter 2021 missing estimates of 0.6%, with the annual growth rate at 1.7% missing estimates of 1.9%. Michelle Marquardt, Head of Prices Statistics at the ABS said: “The rate of growth over the quarter was one of the lowest rates recorded for the series”.

CV19 NEWS

  • LA mandates masks at large outdoor events.
  • Texas Governor Greg Abbott tested positive for Covid-19 in a breakthrough infection.
  • Vaccine Tracker: 4.78bn doses in 183 countries. 37.3m doses a day.Locally, averaging 237,192 doses a day. 3 months to cover 75%.

ASIAN MARKETS

  • Some high-profile US investors have labelled Chinese stocks ‘uninvestable’. The MSCI China Index has dropped almost 30% since its peak in February.
  • Max Baucus, a former U.S. ambassador to Beijing, said in an interview that Chinese President Xi Jinping may be emboldened to test the U.S. over Taiwan. The People’s Liberation Army has flown about 380 sorties into Taiwan’s air-defense identification zone this year.

US AND EUROPEAN NEWS

  • US has frozen US$9.5bn in Afghan assets.
  • European Futures slightly positive.
  • UK CPI up 0.0% for July. 0.3% forecast. No inflation there then.
  • Trump hits Fox News talking Afghanistan: “This is the greatest embarrassment, I believe, in the history of our country.” May have forgotten that he started it.
  • The U.S. has said it remains committed to Taiwan and other allies.
  • Peru’s foreign minister has quit after just 19 days.
  • China and Russia look to step into the US gap in Afghanistan.
  • Ratings agencies have urged caution on the massive rise in US corporate debt.

And finally…

Judge asked me why I stole a load of coins. I said I thought the change would do me good.

The Grim reaper came for me last night, I managed to fend him off with my vacuum cleaner……..talk about Dyson with death.

Do you need a current licence to drive an electric car?

Clarence