by Peter Milios
Australian retail sales increased by 1.9 per cent in January, beating the forecast of 1.5 per cent gain, after a 4 per cent drop in December which was revised from the initially reported 3.9 per cent fall. Other data released includes a surplus of $14.1 billion in the current account balance in the December quarter, a 0.3 per cent rise in housing credit in January, and a 0.4 per cent gain in private sector lending. The terms of trade increased by 0.6 per cent to 111.7.
At noon, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.45 per cent higher at 7,257.20.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 43 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Materials, up 1.17 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Utilities, down 0.95 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC), trading 3.26 per cent higher at $8.23. It is followed by shares in BlueScope Steel (ASX:BSL) and Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN).
The worst-performing large cap is Harvey Norman Holdings (ASX:HVN), trading 12.02 per cent lower at $3.66. It is followed by shares in Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL) and Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL).
Asian markets
Asia-Pacific markets were higher on Tuesday as investors digested key economic data across the region.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.51 per cent, while the Topix was higher at 0.37 per cent despite the country recording its worst decline in factory output in eight months, recording a 4.6 per cent drop in January compared to December.
Retail sales for January beat expectations, with a 6.3 per cent rise compared to the same period a year ago.
South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.98 per cent, while the Kosdaq rose 0.67.
Company news
Beston Global Food Company (ASX:BFC) has announced their results for the half year period to 31 December 2022. The company has recorded a record revenue, up 33 per cent year on year, and a record margin of $15.7 million. In response, the Chairman of BFC, Dr Roger Sexton AM, said, “the building of strong results underlines the benefits that Beston is experiencing under their leadership.” Shares are trading 2.1 per cent higher at 2.5 cents at noon.
TerraCom (ASX:TER) announced a fully franked dividend of 7.5 cents per fully paid ordinary share. It is important to note that this applies to the quarter ended 31 December 2022, and represents almost 10 per cent of the price they are currently trading at. Commenting on the dividend, Non-Executive Chairman, Graeme Campbell, said, “Combined with the 10 cent dividend already paid in December 2022, the total return to shareholders this financial year represents a dividend yield of approximately 23 per cent, based on the current share price.” Shares are trading 0.66 per cent higher at 76 cents.
Metals Australia (ASX:MLS) has announced that a premium battery grade of 99.96 per cent spherical graphite purity has been achieved at their Lac Rainy Graphite Project in Quebec. In response, Chairman Mike Scivolo commented, “This places the Lac Rainy Project in the top tier of high-quality graphite projects, with an ideal location close to North American markets where demand for such high-quality graphite products is high.” Shares are trading 4 per cent higher at 5.2 cents.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1782.70 an ounce.
Iron ore is 3.3 per cent lower at US$122.50 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.4 per cent fall.
One Australian dollar is buying 67.36 US cents.
