The S&P/ASX200 (ASX: XJO) finished the first day of trading in the new financial year on a weaker footing, losing 0.6% with every sector apart from materials finishing down.
The consumer staples and discretionary sectors were the hardest hit, falling 1.3% and 1.2% as lockdowns continue. On the positive side, materials were positively driven solely by a rallying gold price and weaker AUD with gold miners Regis Resources (ASX: RRL) and Santa Barbara (ASX: SBM) jumping 8.1% and 5.6%, respectively.
Westpac (ASX: WBC) also confirmed the sale of their general insurance business to Allianz for $725 million as the clean-up continues, shares fell 0.6%. The PEXA (ASX: PXA) property settlement platform finished flat despite a weak start to trading for the group that is 42% owned by Link Administration (ASX: LNK).
Pexa management confirmed that transaction volumes were 4% ahead of those forecast in the prospectus released just a few short weeks ago. Shares in REA Group (ASX: REA) fell 0.6% despite finalising its acquisition of the Mortgage Choice platform, taking the company off the ASX, with the price of $244 million.
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Charter Hall’s latest acquisition & Magellan simplifies
Property developer and engineering firm Lend Lease (ASX: LLC) delivered another profit downgrade with shares falling 2.8% on the news. Management reduced profit expectation for the financial year to between $200 and $320 million, a wide range, blaming the pandemic which has seemingly hit rents, development activity and sales quite hard.
Lend Lease’s engineering division remains a drag with the group writing down another $90 to $175 million for disputed claims over project costs that are currently the subject of legal proceedings.
Charter Hall’s Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW) upgraded its earnings guidance and is now expecting 3% growth in earnings for FY21 and no less than 4.5% in 2022.
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Charter Hall’s management also announced the acquisition of a 33% stake in Myer’s Bourke Street Mall property in Melbourne for $135.2 million an opportunistic purchase in the conditions; the trust finished 0.6% higher.
Magellan Financial Group (ASX: MFG) continued its streamlining mission, announcing that the Magellan High Conviction (ASX: MHH) fund would be converted to an Active ETF thereby allowing both redemptions and ASX trading for investors and ultimately reducing costs for the group.
US stocks: More records, GM car sales jump, economic recovery continues, Krispy Kreme lists… again
US markets finished at new records with the Dow Jones and S&P500 powering ahead, up 0.4% and 0.5% respectively and the Nasdaq weaker at 0.1%. The momentum once again came from the cyclical sectors including energy and financials after OPEC+ announced a further 500k barrel increase in supply which was taken as a sign of the strength of the global recovery. This was confirmed by the PMI estimates along with another fall in first-time unemployment claims to 364k from 411k. New orders hit 66 points whilst production remains strong at 60.8.
Donut maker Krispy Kreme (NYSE: DNUT) has pounced on an e-commerce boom to list on the market once again, jumping 23% on its debut. General Motors (NYSE: GM) is moving beyond the global chip shortage announcing a 40% increase in car sales as pent-up demand comes through in 2021. This should weaken the run in used car prices that was a key contributor to inflation. Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) restarted its acquisition program, agreeing to buy a 20% stake in electronics retailer Suning.com Co. in partnership with the Jiangsu Provincial Government. The deal sees BABA moving further into JD.com’s turf.