ASX climbs as results roll in; Banks lower

The Australian sharemarket has made a solid start to the week as reporting season rolls on, but weakness in banking stocks has weighed on the index in early trade.

The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 29.3 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 8946.9 in early trade, with 10 of 11 industry sectors in positive territory. The sector in the red in early trade was financials.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank’s profits fell 3.3 per cent in the first half, to $256.4 million, as the bank’s income rose but its operating expenses also increased. It held the dividend flat at 30c a share. Its shares are 2.7 per cent lower. All the big four banks retreated, with Commonwealth Bank slipping 0.1 per cent, ANZ Group down 1.4 per cent, National Australia Bank falling 0.1 per cent and Westpac shedding 0.4 per cent.

Australian steelmaker Bluescope reported an 81 per cent jump in December half earnings to $558 million after President Trump’s hike in US steel tariffs led to “stronger US steel spreads” for its products manufactured in the US. This offset a softer performance in Australia and Asia for its locally manufactured steel which competes against China’s steel glut.

The steelmaker, which is the target of a takeover bid by Kerry Stokes SGH and US-based Steel Dynamics also announced it will deliver $3 a share to investors this calendar year via a $1 per share special dividend, $1.30 per share in ongoing dividends and a $310 million market buyback worth around 70c per share. Bluescope shares are up 2.8 per cent.

Penfolds maker Treasury Wine Estates has lifted 1.2 per cent despite announcing declines across almost all of its metrics for the first half of the 2026 financial year and suspending its interim dividend. Earnings of $236 million was a 66 per cent fall on last year; net sales revenue of nearly $1.3 billion represented a decline of 16 per cent, while sales revenue per case fell 5.1 per cent. The global winemaker recorded a loss after tax of nearly $650 million for the half-year as demand for wine in China and the US weakened.

Electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi added 5.1 per cent as its net profit rose by 7.1 per cent for the half-year.

Mining stocks are mixed with iron ore giant BHP up 0.6 per cent, while Rio Tinto lost 1 per cent and Fortescue shed 0.9 per cent. Gold stocks advanced as the price of the safe haven strengthened. Northern Star advanced 2.3 per cent and Evolution Mining added 1.6 per cent.

Energy stocks are mixed with Woodside Energy and Yancoal both up 0.8 per cent in early trade but Santos lost 0.5 per cent, Ampol slipped 0.4 per cent and Whitehaven Coal fell 0.6 per cent.

Tech stocks rebounded in early trade after Wall Street was boosted by easing concerns about stocks related to artificial intelligence. WiseTech jumped 4.6 per cent, Xero bounced 3.7 per cent and TechnologyOne rose 2.8 per cent.

Housing estate developer Stockland’s chief executive officer Tarun Gupta says higher settlement volumes of land lot sales, a boost from its development fee income and resilience in its warehouse and shopping centre portfolios contributed to a strong first half result. Funds from operations for the six months to December were $325 million, up $74 million on the prior corresponding period. Stockland’s statutory profit was up, at $292 million, after a boost in property valuations of $81 million on a “look-through basis” across its investment platform. Its shares are 1.7 per cent lower in early trade.

The Australian dollar was trading at US70.69¢ at 10.26am AEDT.

US stocks steadied on Friday after an encouraging update on inflation helped calm a Wall Street that’s been wracked by worries about how artificial-intelligence technology may upend the business world.

The S&P 500 barely budged, a day after it had tumbled to one of its worst losses since Thanksgiving. The Dow Jones rose 48 points, or 0.1 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2 per cent.

Wall Street stocks got some help from easing Treasury yields, which fell after a report showed inflation slowed last month by more than economists expected. US consumers paid prices for groceries, clothes and other costs of living that were 2.4 per cent higher overall than a year earlier.

While that’s higher than anyone would like and above the 2 per cent target set by the Federal Reserve, it wasn’t as bad as December’s 2.7 per cent rate. And an underlying measure of inflation that economists see as a better predictor of where it may be heading slowed to the least-painful level in nearly five years.

“It’s still too high, but only for now, not forever,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management.

The economy seems to be in a better place than at the end of 2025. Besides the slowdown in inflation, it also saw the job market improve last month by more than economists expected.

On Wall Street, stock prices steadied for several companies that investors had earlier targeted as potential losers from AI disruption.

The heaviest weight on the market was Nvidia, which fell 2.2 per cent. Because it’s the largest stock on Wall Street, its moves carry more weight on the S&P 500 than any other company’s.

With AP

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