Australia shares clock marginal gains on mixed corporate earnings
NRW slumps about 10%
Telsra gains over 2%
Australia releases jobs data
Updates to close
By Sherin Sunny and Rishav Chatterjee
Aug 15 (Reuters) -Australian shares ended slightly higher on Thursday on an earnings-heavy day, led by mining contracter NRW Holdings and money manager Magellan while losses in heavyweights like Origin Energy and Pilbara Minerals capped gains.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO closed 0.2% higher at 7,865.5 points. The benchmark clocked its fifth straight session of gains.
Shares of Telstra TLS.AX rose 2.1%, after the Australian telco forecast higher fiscal 2025 earnings despite a drop in annual profit.
Money manager Magellan Financial MFG.AX gained 7.6%and mining services provider NRW Holdings NWH.AX climbed 9.7%on higher earnings.
Oil and gas retailer Origin Energy ORG.AX emerged as the second biggest loser on the benchmark after flagging a decline in electricity profits for fiscal 2025.
"The prospect of lower company profits in future was a bitter pill for investors to swallow, which is why many were heading for the exits today despite the bumper earnings report," Tim Waterer, a market analyst at KCM Trade said on Origin earnings.
Lithium miner Pilbara MineralsPLS.AX ended 3.9% lower on plans to buy smaller peer Latin Resources LRS.AX for an implied value of $370.88 million.
Chemicals firm NufarmNUF.AX closed 9.8%in the red after it downgraded earnings estimates amid intense market competition and lower pricing while medical device manufacturer Cochlear COH.AX ended 7.3%lower on weaker-than-expected profit.
Among sub-indexes, banks .AXFJ gained 0.8% onlocal jobs data that showed labour demand remained solid despite high borrowing costs.
Miners .AXMM closed 1.3%lower, reflecting falling iron ore prices on weak property data from China. BHP Group BHP.AX and Rio Tinto RIO.AX ended 1%and 3.6%lower.
Gold miners .AXGD also closed 0.2%lower as the bullion remained subdued earlier in the day but later regained some ground.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 closed 1.1% higher at 12,710.6 points.
Reporting by Sherin Sunny and Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman
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