Advances in stay-at-home stocks offset some of the bruises the travel and technology sectors had suffered.
Redbubble was a big beneficiary, rising 8.2 percent to $ 3.71 while Kogan.com continued to trade strong, gaining 11.1 percent last week, up 6.6 percent to $ 13. Dollar underpinned. Temple & Webster rose 10.2 percent to $ 11.52.
Other consumer discretionary stocks, including Harvey Norman, rose 2.1 percent to $ 5.27, Premier Investments rose 1.8 percent to $ 28.28, Wesfarmers rose 1.3 percent to $ 58.49 Dollar and JB Hi-Fi rose 1.3 percent to $ 49.68.
All three major supermarket companies also ended the session higher; Woolworths rose 2.9 percent to $ 37.85 and Coles rose 0.6 percent to $ 16.93.
Metcash rose 0.8 percent to $ 3.69 after seeing strong sales and earnings increases for the year ended June 30. The company also announced a $ 175 million share buyback.
Revenue (excluding charge-through sales) rose 9.9 percent to $ 14.3 billion, while adjusted net income rose 27.1 percent to $ 252.7 million. Metcash’s dividends for the year rose 40 percent to ¢ 17.5 per share after announcing a final dividend of 9.5 per share.
“Independent retailers have held market share gains from COVID-19,” said Citi analyst Bryan Raymond. “The over-the-counter share buyback of $ 175 million is a positive surprise after Strategy Day given the higher payout ratio and higher investment intensity.” The broker maintained its “Buy” rating on Metcash and its price target of $ 4.10.
According to Gold Road Resources, gold production at its Gruyère operation will decrease to approximately 52,000 to 55,000 ounces (100 percent basis) and therefore production for the 2021 calendar will be in the lower half of the forecast due to disruptions in the site’s processing facility.
As a result, the All-in Sustaining Costs (AISC) for the June quarter is projected to be in the range of $ 1,675 to $ 1,800 per ounce, resulting in an increase in AISC for the year. The stock slumped 7.4 percent to $ 1.31 on the news.
The Star Entertainment Group was forced to close The Star Sydney and introduce restrictions on its The Star Queensland properties in response to the measures taken by the state governments. The company’s shares fell 1.4 percent to $ 3.64.
China’s state planner said it expected the coal supply crisis to subside in July and coal prices to fall, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
“With the growth in hydropower and solar power generation in the summer as well as the increase in coal production and imports, the contradiction between coal supply and demand will tend to ease,” said the National Development and Reform Commission.
Oil stocks had mixed results despite this Commodity prices reach three-year highs. Santos climbed 0.7 percent to $ 7.25 and Oil Search rose 0.5 percent to $ 3.83, but Woodside Petroleum slipped 0.04 percent to $ 22.53, Ampol fell 0.1 percent to $ 28.13 and Beach Energy declined 0.4 percent to $ 1.29.
Commonwealth Bank was the only major bank up 0.6 percent to $ 99.87, while NAB fell 0.2 percent to $ 26.12, ANZ fell 0.3 percent to $ 28.19 Dollar and Westpac fell 0.3 percent to $ 25.82.
