ASX 200 afternoon report: August 10, 2023

The ASX 200 trades 10 points (0.14%) higher at 7348 at 3.00 pm AEST.

ASX 200: Recent developments

Shrugging off a soft lead from Wall Street, the ASX 200 trades modestly higher ahead of an all-important US CPI release.

The upcoming CPI report tonight is anticipated to indicate that US inflation remained well-behaved in July, with both headline and core CPI projected to rise by 0.2% MoM. This would result in the annual headline rate increasing to 3.3% YoY, while core inflation is predicted to remain stable at 4.8%.

However, this week, US equity markets have faced challenges from investors due to Moody's downgrade of several US banks and the soaring energy prices. Overnight, European gas prices surged by 30%, and the relentless climb in the price of crude oil led to its closure at a nine-month high, surpassing $84.00 a barrel.

The ASX 200 market movements today

Energy sector

While rising energy prices are an unwelcome development for households, they provide a firm tailwind to the ASX 200 energy sector, as do workers threatening to disrupt the operations of energy giants Woodside and Chevron.

• Santos gained 2.55% to $8.05
• Beach Energy lifted by 2.4% to $1.70
• Woodside Energy added 1.91% to $39.01

Mining sector

• New Hope added 7.28% to $5.96
• Whitehaven Coal added 6.23% to $7.58
• Yancoal gained 4.64% to $5.19
• Uranium miners Bannerman Energy surged 9.51% to $1.79
• Deep Yellow gained 9.75% to $0.85c

Financial sector

• CBA's share price fell 0.57% to $104.25 after the market reconsidered the quality of its earnings report
• NAB fell 0.28% to $28.56
• ANZ fell 0.2% to $25.38
• AMP recovered to trade 4.32% higher at $1.14 post its earnings report, showing a 23.9% NPAT increase to $57 million.

Earnings season: Hit and miss

No earnings season would be complete without notable disappointments. AGL, for instance, posted an annual loss of $1.26 billion, primarily due to the earlier closure of a power station. This closure resulted in write-downs and derivatives losses. Despite these challenges, there are positive indicators beneath the surface, as AGL's underlying profit saw a 25% increase from the previous year, reaching $281 million.

Boral is another company that has garnered investors' approval, experiencing a significant surge of 8.35% to $4.74. This increase follows the report of a 38% rise in EBITA to $454.4 million. The boost in profits for Boral can be attributed to the company's decision to raise the prices of its cement, gravel, and asphalt materials, which helped to counterbalance higher costs.

ASX 200 technical analysis

The late July rally in the ASX 200 to the 7472 high met with a swift end last week following its reversal lower. The ASX 200 must reclaim resistance at 7360/90 as a base for another attempt at the year-to-date 7567 high. Otherwise, range-bound trading conditions are set to continue.

ASX 200 daily chart

• _{TradingView: the figures stated are as of August 10, 2023. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This report does not contain and is not to be taken as containing any financial product advice or financial product recommendation.}