Australian shares struggle for direction; CSL falls over 3% on weak forecast
Aug 13 (Reuters) -Australian shares were flat on Tuesday, with gains in commodity and banking stocks countered by losses in healthcare stocks as top biotech firm CSL slipped after forecasting lower-than-expected annual profit.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was unchanged at 7,814.9 by 0038 GMT. The benchmark rose 0.5% on Monday.
A mixed bag of domestic corporate earnings and caution ahead of a key U.S. inflation data release weighed on sentiment.
The S&P 500 index .SPX was mostly unchanged on Monday, while the Nasdaq .IXIC gained 0.21% and the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 0.36%. .N
Back in Sydney, CSL CSL.AX, the country's priciest stock, fell more than 3% after the biotech giant forecasted fiscal 2025 statutory net profit after tax 5.5% below the Visible Alpha consensus estimate.
This dragged the larger health sub-index .AXHJ down 1.9%.
Gold stocks .AXGD rose 2.8% aided by strength in the yellow metal, as investors raised hopes for a September rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve. GOL/
Oil prices jumped on the prospect of a widening Middle East conflict, driving energy stocks .AXEJ 0.5% higher.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell 0.53% to $81.86 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 lost 0.57% to $79.60 per barrel.
Financial stocks .AXFJ rose 0.3%, extending their gains to a fourth straight session, while heavyweight mining stocks .AXMM rose 0.4%.
Seek Ltd SEK.AX fell 8.8%, after the online employment marketplace company posted disappointing annual results and forecast.
James Hardie JHX.AX warned of a challenging second quarter, sending the fibre cement maker's shares down more than 5%.
In contrast, Challenger CGF.AX gained 5.8% after reporting better-than-expected annual profit.
Orora ORA.AX jumped 15% after the packaging products maker rejected a $2.25 billion takeover offer from private equity firm Lone Star.
The New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.1% to 12,290.5.
Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich
For more information on DIARIES & DATA: U.S. earnings diary RESF/US Wall Street Week Ahead .N/O Global Economy Week Ahead DATA/ ................................................................ For latest top breaking news across all markets NEWS1
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
