FIVE at FIVE AU: ASX gains 1.39% buoyed by Big 4 banks and jobs data

Published 16/01/2025, 04:40 pm
© Reuters.  FIVE at FIVE AU: ASX gains 1.39% buoyed by Big 4 banks and jobs data
CBA
-
RIO
-
AXAT
-
CLE
-
AVZ
-
ZIP
-
EUR
-

The ASX 200 was 113.7 points or 1.39% higher to 8,327 on the back of strong bank gains with the ‘Big 4’ gaining at least 2% each and it was the Commonwealth Bank leading the way with a 2.5% increase.

All 11 sectors were higher with Financials increasing 2.43%, Real Estate 2.25% and Information Technology was up by 1.60%.

A lift in confidence also came from a mostly positive Australian jobs report today, which revealed a surprising 56,300 new jobs in December.

Among the standouts were Zip (ASX:ZIP) Co which was 7% higher after US competitor Sezzle boosted its revenue forecast while Tabcorp Holdings rose 6% on announcing the appointment of Michael Fitzsimons as its first chief wagering officer.

Strong labour market

Despite an uptick in unemployment, the Aussie labour market had another strong showing, according to Harry Murphy Cruise, head of China and Australia Economics for Moody’s Analytics.

"Almost 60,000 jobs were created through December, more than the previous two months combined.

"On top of that, the labour market’s strength convinced more potential workers to dip their toes into the jobs market. That saw the participation rate reach a new high of 67.1%. Unemployment would have dropped back under 4% without this rise in new potential workers."

He said the bulletproof labour market remained a thorn in the side of the Reserve Bank of Australia.

"With unemployment refusing to heel to the RBA’s hikes, there is a risk the economy stays hotter than needed to bring down underlying inflation.

"The RBA expected unemployment to rise to 4.3% through the December quarter. When all was said and done, unemployment actually fell, dropping to 4% from 4.1% in the September quarter.

"What’s more, job vacancies rose in November for the first time since May 2022. The increase suggests firms are finding it harder to hire suitable talent, an indication that the labour market is tightening.

"Other forward indicators for the labour market are less rosy. The number of new job ads posted on the SEEK website dropped 2.5% m/m to reach a three-and-a-half-year low in December. Similarly, the government’s Internet Vacancy Index fell 2.5% m/m in December, taking it roughly back to where it was in August 2021.

"Taking all that into account — the good and the bad - the outlook for the labour market is solid. While we expect unemployment to rise from here, it won’t rocket; joblessness is set to peak at around 4.3% by the middle of the year. It’ll gradually move lower from there as interest rate cuts inject some life into the economy."

Speaking of rate cuts, Murphy Cruise said the still-strong labour market would give the RBA pause for thought about cutting in February.

"While the latest employment data doesn’t rule out the board cutting at its next meeting, it does raise the bar for what it'll need to see in the upcoming December quarter inflation print.

"Underlying inflation at or under 3.2% y/y (0.5% q/q) would probably do the trick. Anything above that would likely see the board wait until May. For what it’s worth, we expect underlying inflation to come in at 3.3%."

Small cap gains

European Lithium Ltd (ASX:ASX:EUR, OTCQB:EULIF) was given a speeding ticket by the ASX after its shares rose by 28.5% to $0.081 and is now in a trading halt pending a response to the ASX, Lindian Resources Ltd (ASX:LIN, OTC:LINIF) was as much as 11.2% higher to $0.10 and Cyclone Metals Ltd (ASX:CLE) hit a new 12 month high after rising 10.53% to $0.063.

Other movers in the sector were Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX:NVA, NASDAQ:NVA) up 9.53% to $0.345, Race Oncology Ltd (ASX:RAC, OTC:RAONF) rose 9.17% to $1.37, archTIS Ltd hit $0.072, a rise of 9.1% on the previous close, Alkane Resources Ltd (ASX:ALK, OTC:ALKEF) increased 8.25% to $0.525, Polymetals Resources Ltd (ASX:POL) moved up 7.7% to $0.91, Tolu Minerals Ltd (ASX:TOK) was 5.89% higher to $0.90 and Brookside Energy Ltd (ASX:BRK, OTC:RDFEF) shifted 5.43% higher to $0.485.

The five at five

Ora Banda Mining ends 2024 well into the black with flagship Riverina Underground fully paid off

Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM, OTC:ESGFF) (Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM, OTC:ESGFF), Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM, OTC:ESGFF)) ended 2024 in a financially comfortable position, with A$57.8 million in the bank and the Riverina Underground operations at the Davyhurst Project in Western Australia fully paid off.

Read more

Riversgold moves toward drilling this year at Saint John in Canada

Riversgold Ltd (ASX:RGL) (Riversgold Ltd (ASX:RGL)) is making strong progress at the Saint John copper, gold, copper, silver and antimony project in New Brunswick, Canada, with encouraging magnetic data received and drilling approvals granted for the Little Lepreau Prospect.

Read more

Copper performs strongly for mining major Rio Tinto

Copper was a strong performer for Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) (LSE:RIO, ASX:RIO, OTC:RTNTF) (Rio Tinto Ltd (LSE:RIO, ASX:RIO, OTC:RTNTF), Rio Tinto Ltd (LSE:RIO, ASX:RIO, OTC:RTNTF), Rio Tinto Ltd (LSE:RIO, ASX:RIO, OTC:RTNTF)) during the December quarter with mined copper production increasing 21% quarter-on-quarter to 202,000 tonnes, comfortably ahead of the consensus estimate of 182,000 tonnes.

Read more

St George Mining partners with Fangda for Araxá niobium

St George Mining Ltd (ASX:SGQ) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Liaoning Fangda Group, a major global steel producer, via its subsidiary Beijing Fangda Carbon-Tech Co.

Watch more

Livium partners with Hithium for Woolooga Solar Farm recycling

Livium Ltd (ASX:LIT, OTC:LMMFF), through its subsidiary Envirostream Australia, has signed an exclusive recycling agreement with Hithium Energy to recycle lithium-ion batteries supplied to Lightsource bp’s Woolooga Solar Farm in Queensland. The arrangement also permits Livium to process other Hithium batteries on a non-exclusive basis.

Watch more

One to watch

Oil and gas outlook: resilient players drive growth in 2025

Despite the push for greener technologies, oil and gas remain crucial for industries like transportation, power generation and petrochemicals, driven further by rising energy demands from sectors such as artificial intelligence.

Watch more

Read more on Proactive Investors AU

Disclaimer

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2025 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.