Market Wrap / tech flex

A strong opening boosted by tech gains and uranium this morning was not enough to keep the Australian Sharemarket in the green for a second consecutive day. After a late afternoon drop, the S&P/ASX200 index finished down 0.03% to 8,867.40 points at the close.

Company reporting set the tone for the session as earnings season slowly kicks off, with Macquarie Group indicating net profit was ‘substantially up’ on the previous quarter. Following an early spike, the financial services firm eased, gaining a comfortable 0.8%. 

Among other names, Amotiv reported a 39% jump in first-half profit and lifted its interim dividend to 20 cents a share, though margin pressure saw the stock slip 4%. 

Shaping thematic in tech, investors drove the sector up 2.1% with buying into Xero, up 2.6% and NextDC, up 3.4%. But insurers fell, following the launch of an AI tool in the insurance sector in the US. Insurance broker Steadfast fell 9.5% while QBE shed 3.4%. 

While Uranium, after being recently sold off due to AI powering concerns, saw notable gains with Deep Yellow and Paladin up 7.1% and 5.5% respectively. 

Among other gainers, Treasury Wine Estates reached a settlement with one of its US distributors following the closure of its California operations, TWE have since increased its earnings guidance to $236 million, advancing the share price 3.5%. Heading the other way, G8 Education fell 20.6% aft flagging a $350 million impairment.

Tonight in the US, core retail sales data is published along with earnings from AstraZeneca and Coca-Cola.