Australia’s ALL ORDINARIES (INDEXASX: XAO)(ASX: XAO) index climbed 0.9% on Wednesday, despite a fall from Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA).
All Ordinaries: up 0.9% at 5,981 points
ASX 200: up 0.7% at 5,876 points
The ASX’s rebound follows a few days of steep sell-offs on US stock markets and a 3% fall from the All Ordinaries on Tuesday.
Biggest Gainers
- a2 Milk Company Australia Ltd (ASX: A2M) – up 5.2%
- Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) – up 3.9%
- Idp Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) – up 17.4%
- Galaxy Resources Ltd (ASX: GXY) – up 11.5%
Biggest Losers
- Commbank – down 0.8%
- Insurance Australia Group Limited (ASX: IAG) – down 1%
- Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) – down 2.4%
- Evolution Ltd (ASX: EVN) – down 3.2%
Amongst the Big Four banks, Commonwealth Bank was the worst-performing. CBA shares fell 0.8% after the bank reported its half-year results to the ASX this morning.
During the period to 31 December, CBA reported revenue growth of 2% to $21.3 billion and a cash profit of $4.7 billion, down 2% over the same period a year before.
“During this period, we have focused a great deal of effort on fixing our mistakes, and becoming a better bank,” CBA CEO Ian Narev said. “The pride and dedication of our people have also enabled continuing business momentum across CBA.”
Macquarie Group shares bounced back from Tuesday’s selloff when the investment bank issued a trading update revealing expectations of a 10% rise in full-year profit. Macquarie CEO, Nicholas Moore, said trading conditions we “satisfactory” during the December quarter. Read more here.
Shares in the $1.6 billion Idp Education, an IELTS testing business, jumped 17% on Wednesday following the release of its half-year results. Idp Education reported a 28% jump in revenue and 27% increase in profit, according to its ASX filing.
Cimic Group Ltd (ASX: CIM), formerly Leighton Holdings, filed a trading update this morning. The diversified construction contractor increased its 2017 profit to $702 million, up 21% on the result from a year earlier.
Outside of the sharemarket, the prices of cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple bounced back today. According to data from Coinmarketcap, Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple traded 18%, 25% and 18% higher, respectively.
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