ASX 200 afternoon report: August 22, 2023

The ASX 200 trades 6 points (0.03%) lower at 7108 at 3.10 pm AEST.

Today was the eighth consecutive Tuesday that the ASX 200 has started the day with the tailwind of a positive lead from Wall Street behind it.

S&P 500's streak of Monday strength

The benchmark US stock index, the S&P 500, has not closed lower on a Monday since June 26th. On seven of those eight occasions, the ASX 200 embraced the positive lead from Wall Street to close higher the following Tuesday. Whether the ASX 200 can do so today remains to be seen. Nevertheless, after its 4% fall in August, today's steadier session still felt like a win of sorts.

Despite the quiet session at an index level, there was action aplenty under the hood after another eventful morning of earnings reports. The IT Sector was a standout, surging 5.5%, following bumper earnings reports from two members of the local tech sector.

The ASX 200 market movements

• Altium shines

Electronic design software company Altium soared 26.44% to $46.63 as the company reported a 20.3% increase in EBITDA to US$96 million and a 19.6% lift in profit after tax to US$66.3 million. Topping off a good day for shareholders, it raised its dividend by 14.9% to $0.54c per share.

• Megaport's soaring performance

Cloud network company Megaport witnessed a remarkable surge of 18.77%, reaching $12.34. The company's impressive performance was fueled by a substantial revenue growth of 40%, amounting to $153.1 million. Additionally, the company provided optimistic forward guidance, projecting a notable FY 2024 EBITDA growth expected to be up between 152% and 182% YoY.

• Redbubble's positive momentum

Online retailer Redbubble secured its place among today's "Top Three" post-earnings reports movers. The company's share price experienced a remarkable surge of 15.60%, reaching $0.63c. This substantial increase was attributed to effective cost-cutting measures and optimistic guidance, underpinning the company's positive outlook.

• Challenges for Kogan

Conversely, at the other end of the retail spectrum, Kogan faced a challenging day. The company's share price plummeted by 12.61% to $5.01. This significant decline followed the company's report of gross sales and revenue for the full year dropping by approximately 30%. These declines were attributed to the presence of soft market trading conditions.

• Coles' Mixed Performance

The share price of Coles encountered a decline of 5.72%, reaching $16.25. Despite reporting a 4.8% rise in full-year annual profit, amounting to $1.1 billion, the market's attention was drawn towards rising costs and customer theft. Coles' performance reflected the complexity of navigating both positive and challenging aspects of its financial outlook.

• BHP faces share price drop

Mining giant BHP witnessed a share price decline of 1.31%, reaching $42.95. The company's full-year underlying profit experienced a significant drop of 37%, amounting to $US13.4 billion. This decline was attributed to the impact of lower commodity prices on the company's financial performance.

• Woodside's share price decline

Energy behemoth Woodside also faced a share price decline, experiencing a drop of 1.57% to $37.86. Despite reporting a notable 6% increase in half-year profits and achieving record production, this positive performance wasn't sufficient to prevent the decline in share price. Woodside's merger with BHP's petroleum business played a significant role in the company's achievements.

ASX 200 technical analysis

Should the ASX 200 manage to maintain its position above a critical support range of 7050/7000, the ongoing decline from the recent 7472 double top is likely indicative of yet another rotation within the established range that the ASX 200 has maintained over the past four months. This scenario serves as a warning that the future is likely to see further episodes of range trading.

ASX 200 daily chart

• _{TradingView: the figures stated are as of August 22, 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.}