by Paul Sanger
At noon, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.08 per cent or 5.90 points lower at 7099.50.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 1 point.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Consumer Discretionary, up 1.55 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Health Care, down 2.33 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Super Retail Group (ASX:SUL), trading 7.78 per cent higher at $11.02. It is followed by shares in Brambles (ASX:BXB) and Reliance Worldwide (ASX:RWC).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Lake Resources (ASX:LKE), trading 10.07 per cent lower at $1.21. It is followed by shares in Magellan Financial Group (ASX:MFG) and PointsBet Holdings (ASX:PBH).
Asian markets
Asian markets are higher today with shares in Japan leading the region. The Nikkei 225 is up 0.77 per cent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is up 0.46 per cent, the KOSPI is up 0.22 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite is up 0.05 per cent.
China’s Premier Li urges major provinces to consolidate recovery
In an economic symposium, Premier Li Keqiang called on a group of major provinces (that make up 45 per cent of China’s GDP) for more efforts to shore up support for their respective economies (Xinhua). Li highlighted the implementation of pro-growth policies, but no new specific initiatives were revealed. A priority was placed on support for market entities and stabilisation of employment, with prices remaining unchanged. Li suggested that measures should be aimed at private consumption, particularly big-ticket items such as autos and housing. He urged local governments to steer towards austerity on the fiscal side. However, on infrastructure expenditure, he called for ramping up financial support for qualified projects via local government special bonds and other policy channels.
Japan posts 12th straight trade deficit, machinery orders rebound moderately
The customs trade deficit came to JPY1,436.8B in July, compared to the consensus JPY1,405.0B, and follows JPY1,398.5B in the previous month. Exports rose 19.0 per cent y/y versus the consensus 18.2 per cent and revised 19.3 per cent in the prior month. Main drivers were autos, metallurgical fuel and semiconductor-making equipment. Imports grew 47.2 per cent versus the consensus 45.7 per cent and 46.1 per cent in the prior month. Fossil fuels continued to soar by triple digits. The FX factor remained notable, with the yen down 23.1 per cent y/y versus the dollar on a customs-cleared basis. Core machinery orders increased 0.9 per cent m/m in June versus the consensus 1.3 per cent, rebounding moderately from a 5.6 per cent drop in the prior month. A firmer bounce in manufacturing was held back by a stall in non-manufacturing demand. Overseas orders fell for the second straight month, while public orders were little changed after dropping sharply in May. Core orders still finished Q2 with a strong 8.1 per cent q/q gain on the back of a strong start in April. The Q3 survey projection points to a 1.8 per cent decline as partial payback.
Company news
Fletcher Building (ASX:FBU) has boosted its 2021-22 annual dividend by a third to 40 NZ cents per share after meeting its full-year earnings guidance, despite battling Covid, rising building costs and interest rates, especially in the company’s home market of New Zealand. The trans-Tasman group told stock exchanges on Wednesday that it will pay a final dividend of 22 NZ cents a share, up from 18 cents a year, taking the full year payout to 40 NZ cents (30 cents previously). At the same time the company said it had completed $NZ274 million of its $NZ300 million buyback in the year to June. Revenue for the year rose 5 per cent to just on $NZ8.5 billion, with net after tax profit of $NZ432 million 42 per cent higher than 2020-21’s $NZ305 million. EBIT of $NZ756 million for the year was just above guidance for the year of around $NZ750 million. Shares in FBU are currently up 3.25 per cent at $5.09.
Nuheara (ASX:NUH), a company transforming the way people hear by creating smart and affordable hearing solutions, announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration’s landmark final ruling has established a regulatory category for over-the-counter hearing aids in the United States. The ruling allows hearing aids within the OTC category to be sold directly to consumers in stores or online without a medical exam or fitting by an audiologist. There is now a 60-day enactment period until the OTC hearing aid consumer retail sales are allowed, anticipated for mid-October 2022. Shares are trading up 32.43 per cent at $0.245.
Frontier Energy (ASX:FHE) today announced that results from its Renewable Expansion Technical Assessment have been completed by Xodus Group for the company’s 100 per cent owned Bristol Springs Project located in the South West region of WA. The expansion study incorporated the total land under the company’s control and assessed the various renewable energy solutions available. It concluded the optimal outcome was a solar-only solution that would produce at least 438MW. Executive Chairman Grant Davey commented: “Our strategy aligns with the federal and state governments’ drive to decarbonise energy supply to industry and households. Our Expansion Study indicates the potential for lower cost of green hydrogen production through economies of scale and world class infrastructure in the area.” Shares are trading up 8.47 per cent at $0.32c.
XTEK (ASX:XTE) today announced that the Group’s HighCom Armor Solutions business has received an order valued at A$2.7m from a US Federal Government agency customer for specialist body armour and ballistic helmets. The order is expected to be quickly fulfilled and shipped to the customer before the end of Q1 FY23. Scott Basham, XTEK Group CEO, said, “This multi-million dollar order continues the cracking start to the new financial year for the Group, with us having already recognised US$11m (~A$15.6m) so far in Q1. And of course, we still have two final shipments to complete the transformational order we received back on 27 May 22, that are worth a further US$11m (~$A15.6m) scheduled to occur through August and September. It’s exciting to say, but FY23 is already shaping up to be even more promising than what FY22 was for the Group.” Shares are trading unchanged at $0.39.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1774.87 an ounce.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 0.4 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 69.97 US cents.
