The ASX index fell 0.43% on Thursday, with miners, energy, and retailers leading the decline. Nick Scali (ASX:NCK) was the biggest loser, dropping about 16% after warning that its first-half profit could fall to $28m-$32m due to weak consumer spending.
The company’s profit guidance was affected by shoppers keeping their wallets closed, and the decline in consumer spending also impacted other furniture retailers, including Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) and Harvey Norman Holdings (ASX:HVN).
Fortescue (ASX:FMG) also took a hit due to its standoff with China’s iron ore buying agency, which has resulted in more tonnes of iron ore remaining unsold. Energy stocks, including Woodside and Santos, fell despite Brent crude prices remaining around $110 a barrel.
US Market Performance
In contrast, the US market had a decent night, with SpaceX jumping around 10% after reporting strong earnings. Tesla also rallied, and chip stocks saw an increase in value.
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The different performance of the US and Australian markets may be due to various factors, including differences in investor priorities and market trends. While the US market was driven by strong earnings reports, the Australian market was affected by concerns over expensive oil, money, and iron ore prices.
Other Market News
DeepSeek has raised about $15 billion in one of China’s biggest-ever funding rounds, with backers including CATL and Tencent. Meta has been ordered to pay $25 billion after a New Mexico jury found that it misled Facebook users over privacy and content moderation.
Elon Musk is still considering merging Tesla and SpaceX, with both companies forming committees to explore a potential deal. The UK inflation rate jumped to 3.5% in September, the highest in almost a year, and markets are now pricing in a November rate hike.
ASX Sector Performance
Industrials were the best-performing sector, up 0.90%, while real estate added 0.76%, telcos 0.52%, and financials 0.44%. Staples, healthcare, utilities, and tech also saw gains.
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At the other end of the spectrum, energy fell 2.42%, materials lost 1.96%, and discretionary dropped 1.72%. The Resources index fell 2.10%, gold stocks lost 1.95%, and the Small Ordinaries dropped 0.48%. The All Technology Index rose 0.92%, while banks gained 0.39%.
Company News
AXP Energy (ASX:AXP) has reported that its Oklahoma gas-to-power operation is running smoothly, with plans to roll out more setups if its planned acquisition of nearby wells is successful. Notably, the operation has been humming along, running more than 95% of the time over the past month, and is currently being used to generate electricity for data mining equipment. Tambourah Metals (ASX:TMB) has struck high-grade gold at its Baxters South prospect in WA, with plans for further drilling to determine the extent of the gold deposit, including a notable 4m at 41.7g/t gold from 55m and a deeper 3m at 35.5g/t from 169m.
Other companies that made news on Thursday include Albion Resources (ASX:ALB), which has expanded its Gidgee exploration tenure, and Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA), which has welcomed US government investment in rail infrastructure near its Alaska operations. Additionally, Power Minerals (ASX:PNN) has hit more rare earth mineralisation 240m down at Morro do Ferro, and Accelerate Resources (ASX:AX8), Invex Therapeutics (ASX:IXC), and Pinnacle Minerals (ASX:PIM) have all been placed in trading halts due to capital raises and acquisitions.
Today is also known as International CAPS Lock Day, and in other news, Tambourah Metals (ASX:TMB) has reported high-grade hits at Baxters South that add to its gold potential, while Recce Pharmaceuticals (ASX:RCE) has signed an Australia and New Zealand licensing deal for its diabetic foot infection gel, and TrivarX (ASX:TRI) has taken another step towards a trial of its next-generation cancer imaging technology.
