And that's a wrap from all of us on the ABC News business blog today.
Here's a GIF to make it real.
Thanks for reading,
We'll be back bright and early tomorrow.
And that's a wrap from all of us on the ABC News business blog today.
Here's a GIF to make it real.
Thanks for reading,
We'll be back bright and early tomorrow.
The Australian share market hit a 5-week low on Thursday, as major miners slumped and banking stocks weighed on the index.
Reporting season influenced stock movements, with Fortescue disappointing investors and Super Retail leading the declines.
Today's job figures from the ABS also solidified the view that another RBA rate cut is likely to be some time away.
The "big four" banks all fell.
CBA fell 1.9%, Westpac tumbled 3.4%, ANZ lost 3%, while NAB shed 3.3%.
As for the miners, BHP lost 3%, Rio Tinto fell 1.5%.
Fortescue plummeted 6.2%.
On the upside, Megaport stocks led the gains on Thursday, after posting positive a jump in its annual recurring revenue. That's despite an 80% fall in the company's net profit due to higher costs.
Real estate was the worst performing sector. 7 of 11 sectors closed lower. Telecommunications Services was the best performing sector, gaining 2.1%.
And that's a wrap for Thursday's trading session.
Reporting season has really hit full stride today, and The Business has you covered tonight:
Catch The Business with Nadia Daly on ABC News Channel at 8:45pm AEDT, after the late news on ABC TV, and anytime on ABC iview.
Here's some more insight into why the ASX has fallen sharply today following the ABS labour force data release and what it means for rates.
As Ryan Felsman, who looks at investor implications for CBA writes:
"The still-strong jobs report failed to move the dial on the already limited chance of more policy easing soon. Swaps imply just a 10% probability that the RBA will follow up with a cut in April, while pricing in just 40 basis points of policy easing for all of 2025, equivalent to less than two rate cuts.
CBA Group economists expect the RBA to deliver further 25 basis point rate cuts in May, August, and November for an end year cash rate of 3.35%. The near-term risk sits with another rate reduction in April if the labour market data loosens more materially in the next couple of months."
CreditorWatch chief economist Ivan Colhoun had this to say:
"At face value, the data don’t argue for an early follow up rate cut by the RBA, though the Bank will remain data dependant, and a lot might happen on the tariff and global economic front before the May meeting.
It remains very good news that unemployment, youth unemployment and underemployment remain so low, which will broadly support consumer spending and household credit quality even as both consumers and businesses remain under cost of living and cost of doing business pressure. "
Colhoun also notes that just because the inflation rate is moderating, this does not mean that prices or costs have fallen.
Most of the gas we produce in Australia is exported.
Consumers of gas here, though, are constantly warned about looming gas shortages, while at the same time, faced with soaring gas prices that are linked to the global market.
As ABC News' chief business correspondent Ian Verrender writes, the former director of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's Gas Inquiry, recommends a solution that appears to have an elegant simplicity.
Josh Runciman, now with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, argues the long-held position that Australia should just add more gas supply needs a rethink because it simply hasn't worked.
Read Ian's piece here:
Hi Craig,
According to the numbers in the labour force survey, there were an estimated 14,634,300 employed people in January, of which 914,300 were underemployed.
That gives an "underemployment rate" of 6% (that measures the proportion of the labour force who are estimated to be underemployed).
That figure of 6% is much better than it was in the pre-pandemic years, when it was hovering between 8% and 9% year-after-year.
You can also look at the "underemployment ratio," which was 6.24% in January (that measures the proportion of employed people who are underemployed).
That is similarly improved compared to its pre-pandemic level.
The question of whether or not people are getting the pay they need is a different matter, and it's not covered in the labour force survey.
Here's a quick look at how the ASX 200 is tracking, or rather falling as we enter the final hour of trade for Thursday:
Company results have influenced movements on the ASX 200, with Super Retail and Fortescue plummeting as a result.
Eight out of 11 sectors are in the red:
Why are we seeing such a bad day on the ASX? Today's better-than-expected unemployment figures likely mean that we'll be waiting a while for another rate cut from the RBA.
As part of its half-year profit update, Fortescue has reduced its planned capital expenditure in its green energy division.
Planned expenditure was cut from the $US500 million previously forecast to $US400 million.
"Market conditions are uncertain, with the Trump administration instructing federal agencies to pause grant payments under the Inflation Reduction Act," the company said about its green energy projects.
It cited elections, including in Australia, and the European Union's implementation of its Renewable Energy Directive III as other sources of uncertainty.
That's put the timing of Fortescue's hydrogen projects in question.
"As a result, the development timelines of Fortescue's Arizona Project and Gladstone PEM50 Project [in Queensland] are being reconsidered.
"Fortescue anticipates having greater clarity on the impact of these factors by the end of the financial year."
Fortescue Energy chief executive Mark Hutchinson said the company was continuing to "progress and refine" its green projects amid the challenging global market conditions.
"We have not changed our vision or direction and remain committed to producing green electrons and green molecules, however we are adjusting our timelines to ensure any project we work on brings value to our shareholders."
Mid-last year, Fortescue announced it would slash about 700 jobs in its metals and energy divisions, and said it was unlikely to meet its production target of 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030.
You can read analysis from the time here:
For anyone in Victoria reading this blog, it's likely you either know someone who works for the state government (or at least know someone who knows someone in the VPS).
The Allan government has announced it wants to reduce the public sector workforce to pre-pandemic levels.
That could see up to 3,000 VPS workers made redundant.
The announcement is also interesting in light of what it could mean for future ABS unemployment rate data.
The Victorian government says frontline workers such as teachers, police officers and health workers would not be cut as a result of the review.
A bold move for a government due to hold a state election in November next year?
Perhaps they're betting that by putting the razor gang to work this year, anyone who is unhappy with the job cuts will have moved on by the time they cast their vote.
The Australian share market is firmly in the red a few hours out from the close of trade.
Let's take a look at some of the major stocks weighing on the ASX 200:
"This reporting season, which started strongly enough, has imploded in spectacular fashion," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore told AAP.
"When stocks are priced for perfection as the banks have been, even minor misses will be punished."
In better news, some of the stocks on the rise include: