ASX gains despite mining selloff, Regis, AMA sink on downgrades

The local market managed to post a positive start to the week with the S&P/ASX200 gaining 0.3 per cent on the back of a rally in the more cyclical property and retailing sectors. Real estate gained 1.3 per cent and the discretionary sector 0.7 with Star Entertainment (ASX:SGR) a highlight, finishing 4.9 per cent higher. The energy and utilities sectors were the only two finishing markedly lower, down 0.3 per cent as the price of coal sunk and dragged New Hope (ASX:NHC) 9.5 per cent lower. But all eyes were on the mining sector with seven of the ten largest losers on the day being gold miners. This was led by Regis (ASX:RRL) which fell 11.2 per cent after forecasting a fall in production for the remainder of the financial year and predicting a blow out in production costs. Transurban (ASX:TCL) shares were muted, gaining just 0.3 per cent, despite announcing a 12.9 per cent increase in traffic on its toll roads, a record third quarter result.

AMA sinks, EML surges on sale process, EML Payments gets new CEO

Shares in smash repairer AMA Group (ASX:AMA) fell by more than 34 per cent after the company unexpectedly downgraded earnings guidance warning profit would be lower for the financial year. Management now expected earnings of between $60 and $68 million, compared with prior guidance of $70 to $90 million, blaming difficultly in labour markets and higher costs for the adjustment. Lithium miner Lake Resources (ASX:LKE) gained more than 18 per cent after the partner Lilac increased its stake in the Kachi project by 20 per cent. It was the opposite story for EML Payments (ASX:EML) with share price leaping 14 per cent on news that Kevin Murphy had replaced Emma Shand as CEO just 10 months after joining the business. Investors were clearly buoyed by news that investment bank Barrenjoey had been engaged to consider the sale of each part of the business. In other news, the Virgin IPO has been delayed by private equity manager Bain Capital.

S&P500 improves as earnings season begins, manufacturing activity jumps, Schwab rallies

All three US benchmarks finished higher Monday, buoyed by the beginning of another quarterly reporting season that will offer insight into whether a long predicted ‘earnings recession’ will come true or whether businesses are more resilient than expected. The Dow Jones gained 0.2 per cent while both the S&P500 and Nasdaq gained 0.3 per cent, ahead of a number of big bank earnings results. Shares in Charles Scwhab (NYSE:SCHW) gained close to 4 per cent after delivering better than expected profit numbers from its trading platform despite a fall in revenue. Similarly, ETF provider State Street (NYSE:STT) fell by close to 10 per cent as lower market levels impact revenue based on funds under management. In positive signs, the volatility index has pushed back to 17, the lowest since January 2022, while manufacturing activity in New York jumped by 35 points back into the positive.

Drew Meredith

Drew is editor of The Inside Network's publications and a principal adviser at Wattle Partners.