The S&P/ASX 200 index closed marginally lower on Thursday, shedding 5 points, or 0.08%, to finish at 7024. The energy sector, surging by 2.96%, and materials, gaining 0.29%, were the only areas in the green in a choppy trading session.
Oil prices reached 12-month highs again as stockpiles hit critically low levels at a major U.S. storage hub, contributing to the energy sector's strong performance. Iron Ore also saw an increase of approximately 0.6% in Asia, defying bearish expectations and holding at $US120/t.
In contrast, the staples sector was the weakest performer of the day, declining by 1.18%. Utilities followed closely behind with a drop of 0.78%. Five other sectors fell by more than 0.5%.
Domestic retail sales data released on Thursday morning showed a month-on-month increase of 0.2%, slightly below expectations of a 0.3% rise. This data played a role in the weakness observed in consumer stocks for the day. Household goods fell by 0.4% in the month while staples were dragged down by a fall of 0.3% in food retailing.
Among individual stocks, Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV) reported largely in-line FY23 results and confirmed softer sales for FY24. The company's shares fell by 0.53%. Meanwhile, ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) was the only bank to finish higher, gaining 1.11% following an upgrade by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS).
Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW) shares dropped by 6.42% after missing expectations by around 10% on EBIT, primarily due to a 65% decline in the Australian Building Materials segment. Regal Partners Ltd (ASX: RPL) saw their shares rise by 6.85% after withdrawing their proposal to buy Pacific Current Group Ltd (ASX: PAC) due to a lack of engagement.
Gold stocks struggled as gold prices fell by approximately 1.5% overnight, with Newcrest Mining (OTC:NCMGF) Ltd (ASX: NCM) being the worst performer among the majors, down 4.98%.
In broker moves, ANZ Group was raised to overweight at Morgan Stanley with a price target of A$27. Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) was also raised to overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: NYSE:JPM) with a price target of A$25.
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