“There were some pretty outsized moves by the large companies on the first day of results,” he said.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index had surged through the 9000 points level at 6pm NZ time after gaining 1.55% to 9005.2.
At that time, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which owns ASB Bank, was up 7.72% to A$170.99 after reporting a 5% increase in net profit to A$5.412 billion for the six months ending December.
CBA said lending and deposit volumes growth in the core businesses was offset by lower margins and higher operating expenses due to inflation and continued investment in technology.
ASB reported cash net profit of $719m, up 1% on the previous corresponding period. Since December 2024, home lending grew 8%, business and rural lending increased 4%, and total customer deposits were up 5%. But net customer margins remained flat.
Vittoria Shortt, ASB chief executive, said while the geopolitical outlook remained uncertain, “we are seeing more confidence in the economy, supported by lower interest rates and good export earnings in key sectors. This is evident in the uptick we’ve seen in business lending.”
Building materials company James Hardie had risen 10.66% to A$36.78 after reporting strong third-quarter earnings, with net sales increasing 30% to A$1.2 billion, operating income reaching $176m and adjusted ebitda hitting $330m.
Biotechnology multinational CSL was down 5.95% to A$161.18 after reporting first-half revenue of A$8.3b, up 4%, and net profit of $401m, which was impacted by one-off restructuring costs and impairment.
Also across the Tasman, Aussie Broadband (ABB) had risen 14.57% to A$5.19 after announcing it is buying telecommunications business AGL Energy and adding 350,000 broadband services and mobile connections, and 46,000 voice services.
ABB is initially placing 22m shares worth A$115m to AGL in June.
Back home, Ebos Group, reporting on February 25, continued to hang around five-year lows after falling 80c or 3.1% to $25.
Goodson said the CSL weakness may have spilled over to Ebos. “Ebos’ result will be one of the most pivotal in our reporting season. The new chief executive has indicated cost increases, and the current market pricing may be assuming the worst.”
Heavyweight Fisher and Paykel Healthcare led the market down with Ebos, declining 63c to $39.35.
Freightways shed 14c to $14.81; Serko decreased 9c or 3.61% to $2.40; Vista Group was down 7c or 3.55% to $1.90; Tourism Holdings declined 10c or 4.08% to $2.35; and Blackpearl Group eased 3c to $1.05.
Bremworth declined 3.5c or 4.86% to 68.5c after telling shareholders to expect a lower return from its scheme of arrangement with Mohawk Industries.
Westpac increased $1.40 or 3.05% to $47.26; a2 Milk gained 25c to $10.13; ikeGPS rose 4c to $1.04; Green Cross Health was up 9c or 2.88% to $1.48; Third Age Health added 14c or 2.66% to $5.41; and KMD Brands ended on 25.5c.
Fletcher Building, up 4c to $3.77, is selling its Felix St industrial property in Auckland’s Onehunga to Goodman Property Trust for $53.5m.
Goodman Trust, gaining 1.5c to $1.92, said the 5.1ha redevelopment site supports a wide range of modern warehousing options.
Argosy Property, up 3.5c or 3% to $1.20, told the market it has unconditionally sold its Henderson Place property in Auckland for $39.5m, representing a premium of 16.6% above the September valuation.
Goodson said the market reacted to the strong premium on the book value, and the sale will be useful in lowering Argosy’s gearing.
TruScreen increased 0.002 or 11.11% to 2c after announcing it has been validated as a superior primary cervical cancer screening tool by the world’s largest opto-electronic study conducted by the Chinese Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Association.
The company has also signed its first sales contract in Uzbekistan – eight AI-enabled cervical cancer screening devices and 8280 single-use sensors for public screening programmes, training and distribution to private women’s health clinics.