ASX jumps to record high on miners, energy stocks

The Australian sharemarket has opened at a record high after US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell unleashed a wave of money on Wall Street, signalling the central bank would cut interest rates as soon as next month.
Powell resisted White House pressure to cut rates, saying the Fed needed more evidence of easing costs. Yet in his keynote, he flagged rising risks in the US jobs market, prompting investors to see a potential for earlier-than-expected rate cuts.
The S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.9 per cent to 9049.40 at 10.11am AEST . Nine of the 11 index sectors were up led by strong gains in materials.
Materials were underpinned by the major iron ore miners with BHP, Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto all up by more than 2 per cent as prices in the key steelmaking material rallied more than 1.8 per cent to $US102.40 per tonne. PLS jumped 3.1 per cent despite a full year loss near $200 million, after the dismal price of lithium cut revenues by almost 40 per cent
Energy also rallied as Santos lifted 1.2 per cent as it extended due diligence for its Middle Eastern bidder until September 19 and announced a 22 per cent drop in first-half profit.
Stocks in focus
In company news, Endeavour Group rose 0.2 per cent as it posted a 17 per cent decline in full year net profit to $426 million, falling below market expectations.
Regal Partners fell 4 per cent as it reported a 24 per cent decline in normalised net profit to $44.81 million over the half year, while total net income was flat at $148.4 million. The ASX-listed alternative asset manager said it attracted $700 million of net inflows during the half and funds under management stood at $18.5 billion.
Bendigo Bank gained 0.3 per cent following a full year net loss of $97.1 million, driven largely by a goodwill impairment announced to the market last week. Cash earnings fell 8.4 per cent to $514.6 million following a tough first half.
Investigations software provider Nuix dived 7.4 per cent following a full year loss of $9.2 million, after the company pulled its full-year guidance in May due to higher legal costs and signing fewer multi-year customer contracts. It compares to a profit of $5 million in the prior year.
Reece tumbled 20.4 per cent after a 24 per cent fall in net profit to $317 million, as weak housing markets in Australia, New Zealand, and the US weighed on demand. Earnings per share fell to 49 from 65.
NIB soared 6.6 per cent after a 9.4 per cent lift in full-year net profit to $198.6 million, underpinned by growth in its Australian private health insurance business and improved investment returns. Revenue grew 7.8 per cent.

Sumber : AFR