The wall of worry continues to pressure the Australian share market with the escalating conflict sending both the S&P/ASX200 (INDEXASX: XJO) share price and All Ordinaries (INDEXASX: XAO) share price more than 1% on Thursday.
Falling 1.4% and 1.3%, respectively, every sector finished weaker with utilities the ‘outperformer’ by dropping only 0.3% as Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) held ground gaining 0.1% after Grant Samuel increased its estimated valuation of the business.
Origin Energy share price
Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX) share price fell by more than 10% after the company released results from a preliminary trial of its prostate cancer drug that didn’t live up to expectations.
On the positive side, gold miner Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) benefitted from both the surge in demand for safe haven assets while also confirming production guidance for FY24; share prices gained more than 4% on the news.
The unemployment rate fell once again, hitting 3.6%, but in this case, it was due to another 13,000 leaving the work force altogether, rather than finding new jobs.
Weebit Nano jumps on chip deal: Woolworths PETstock deal snagged
Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT) which develops semiconductor memory technology announced a major commercial agreement with DB HiTek Co Ltd (KRX: 000990), one of the world’s largest foundries. While not disclosing the value of the deal, it represents a significant win for the group with share price gaining 6.8%.
Share prices in Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) were dragged lower by the risk off sentiment, but Woolworths has seen progress in its acquisition of the PETstock franchise. After raising competition concerns, the group announced plans to divest 41 stores and veterinary hospitals to ensure that the deal goes ahead as planned after Woolies purchased 55% of the company in 2022.
Woolworths share price
Furniture retail Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) share price finished broadly flat after the company delivered a better-than-expected update to the market. September sales were down 5.4% on 2022 levels, much better than expected, and while store traffic has reduced by as much as 15%, conversion rates continue to improve.
The result expected to be a profit exceeding $40 million, comparing positively to the $38.6 million previously forecast.
Netflix jumps on subscriber gains: Tesla announces new launch
All three US benchmarks finished lower on Thursday, as comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell suggested that inflation remains too high but that bond yields may be slowing the economy and financial system enough. The result was a 0.8% fall in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) share price, 0.9% in the S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX) share price and 1% in the Nasdaq Inc (NASDAQ: NDAQ) share price.
Strong employment data continues to feed through offering hope that a recession will be avoided, this time just 198k claimed unemployment benefits.
Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) were among the key earnings reports overnight with the former surging 10%.
Netflix share price
Netflix reported 8.86 million new subscribers during the quarter, 30% higher than estimates and a surge in ad-supported options, which now make up 30% of revenue.
Tesla share price on the other hand fell by 10% after the company announced the long awaited Cyber Truck would be ready by 30 November, but that it was unlikely to add to cash flow for several years.
