Company Interview / the COB: the eye of the storm?

The volatility continued in Thursday’s session as a sell-off in mining and property stocks weighed on the local bourse. The S&P/ASX 200 fell  0.23% to 7682.00 points.The materials sector fell 1.95% as the big miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue all slumped, tracking lower commodity prices following a decline in Singapore iron ore futures below US$100 a tonne.In the property space, Mirvac fell 9% as the building developer and fund manager forecast lower earnings and distributions in FY25 due to challenging market conditions and higher costs. Also in the A-REITs sector, Goodman Group fell 2.2%Heading the other way, wealth manager AMP gained 13.3% after reporting a 5.4% jump in 1H profit to $118 million.Elsewhere, Transurban shares fell 0.8%  despite forecasting a higher dividend. Light and Wonder shares rose after posting a 14% jump in gaming revenue in its latest quarterly update. And Myer fell 7.1% amid a profit warning. Former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce will lose more than $9 million from his pay after a board-commissioned review found mistakes made by the airline’s management created “significant reputational and customer service issues”.  Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock further explained why the central bank kept rates on hold at its August meeting, during a speech in northern New South Wales, saying that inflation is still too high and the RBA “will not hesitate to raise rates if it needs to.”