ASX 200 closed up 5 points to 7457 (0.1%) in thin trade as resources slipped slightly on Lunar New Year with BHP down 1.1% and FMG off 1.0%. Lithium and base metals picked up led by PLS up 6.2% with IGO up 3.1% and LTR bouncing from Friday’s sell off, up 6.9%. Base metals and other commodity stocks did well, NIC up 3.2% and SYR up 1.3%. Gold miners too in demand, NCM up 0.5%, DEG up 0.3% and SBM doing well up 5.3%. Oil and gas stocks better, KAR up 7.4% on a reserve upgrade, WDS up 1.7% and STO still stuck in a hollow. Banks unchanged as Macquarie downgraded the outlook for the big four, Big Bank Basket $188.93, MQG up 0.7% and QBE doing well up 0.4%. Tech stocks in demand as SQ2 rallied 6.1% dragging ZIP with it by 22.8% and SZL numbers helping too rising 38.9%. XRO up 1.4% and CPU rallying 1.2% too. The All-Tech Index up 1.3%. Industrials firm but unexciting. Healthcare mixed, REITS better with GMG down 0.8% letting the side down. In corporate news, plenty of quarterlies again, AFI and WLE upped dividends, SMR achieved guidance but still tumbled lower, SZL reported it’s second month of profitability. On the economic front, supermarket inflation jumps 9.2% with dairy and meat leading the gains. Asian market mostly closed for Year of the Rabbit celebrations. Japan no bunny up 1.3%.
Why not sign up for a free trial? Get access to expert insights and research and become a better investor.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com