ASX News Live | ASX 200 Opens Down in Another Choppy Day of Trading; Wall St Breaks Losing Streak; Air NZ, SUN, PME Feature

As Australia awaits the all-important CPI data release tomorrow, many fear that inflation will rear its ugly head once more. Why?

Petrol prices are at record highs. Hitting $2.2 per litre in some parts of Australia, while over the ditch, they are getting to ridiculous highs of NZD$3.50 per litre.

Why are they so high, and what are the main drivers of these prices? Click below to read my thoughts.

https://www.moneymorning.com.au/20230926/why-are-australias-petrol-prices-so-high.html

Coal miner Coronado Global Resources [ASX:CRN] saw its shares jump by 3% today after it announced it had signed an agreement with Prague-based Sev.en Global Investments.

Sev.en will buy a 51% stake in the Brisbane-based miner from the Energy & Minerals Group (EMG).

‘We believe that Coronado has established a successful business strategy and we will support the company in continuation of its business strategy to grow and strengthen its position both in the U.S. and Australia,’ Sev.en chief executive Alan Svoboda said in a statement.

Coronado was founded in 2011 by EMG and currently produces over 16 million tonnes of coal from several mines located in both Australia and the United States.

The acquisition is still subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval from the US and Australia.

Dan Andrews announced his resignation today, saying his time in office was the ‘honour and privilege of his life’.

The resignation will come into effect at 5pm tomorrow. He commented on the decision today, saying:

‘To have been premier for nine years and the leader of my party for 13 years is a greater set of opportunities than I ever thought would be afforded to me, a kid from the country with only really an aspiration to do good, to work hard, to work with teams of people to perhaps make things better.’

Dan Andrews said that the Labor caucus will meet at midday tomorrow to decide his successor but refused to speculate on who that would be.

Lithium explorer Mineral Resources [ASX:MIN] has announced a US$850 million five-year debt in the US 144 bond market.

The huge senior unsecured notes will be part of a raise aimed at financing an expansion.

The announcement comes after the company announced an upgrade of its Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves at its Mt Marion and Wodgina lithium deposits, as well as a maiden Mineral Resource for its Ken’s Bore iron ore deposit.

Here are the highlights:

Source: Market Index ( MIN Announcement 22/09/23)

The latest from the ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence survey shows general consumer confidence fell 3.4pts, with all subindexes down.

It seems petrol prices have weighed on consumers who are expecting the latest CPI data to show inflation back on the rise.

The average price of regular unleaded in Melbourne yesterday was $2.2 per litre, which is a record high.

Motorists have been warned that prices are likely to remain high until the end of the year.

The issues are a compounding one for Australians as supply cuts from OPEC+ (mainly Russia and Saudia Arabia) have been extended until the end of December.

On top of this, there have been issues at refineries in Singapore and Malaysia, which have meant that our supply will likely see shortages and higher prices until the end of the year.

For a full breakdown of prices across the major cities, click here.

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 3.4pts. Each subindex was down. Inflation expectations rose to 5.4%, reversing the falls of the last 2 wks. This is likely to be of interest to the RBA, given petrol prices have averaged over $2/L for 6 wks. #ausecon @madelinedunk pic.twitter.com/uuKcExFiNr

— ANZ_Research (@ANZ_Research) September 25, 2023

The ASX 200 has slipped down 0.5% this morning but has begun to recover slightly. The ASX 200 is currently down 0.35% at 7,051.

The ASX 200 is trading near its lowest level in 10 weeks, with Real Estate (-1.82%) and Tech (1.64%) the biggest sector losses this morning.

In company news, Qantas continues to slide, down 1.72% after signalling higher costs. The airline has a long list of big expenses coming up, including new planes, potentially record-breaking fines, and $200 million more in fuel costs for the remainder of this year.

Liontown Resources is down 2.67% after news of Gina Rinehart’s increased stake in the company, which is seen as a large complication in the Albermarle takeover.

Talon Energy is up by 4% on news it has started exporting gas from its WA-based Waylering gas field, which it shares with joint venture partner Strike Energy, which also rose 0.5%.

The Healthcare sector is one of the few bright spots today, with Pro Medicus up 9.4% after signing a $140 million 10-year deal with Baylor Scott & White.

Air New Zealand is down 1.4% after the company echoed Qantas’s announcement yesterday, expecting higher fuel costs in the coming year.

Gina Rinehart has increased her stake in Liontown Resources [ASX:LTR], complicating Albemarle’s $6.6 billion takeover bid. Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting now holds a 10.69% stake in Liontown, up from 7.72% on September 11, just after the Liontown board accepted Albemarle’s $3-a-share offer.

Mrs Rinehard, Australia’s richest person, has been buying Liontown shares at $3 since September 11, and yesterday alone spent more than $132 million for about 44 million shares. The share market raid came just hours before Hancock delivered a stinging assessment of Liontown’s ability to hit targets and successfully operate.

Hancock said late on Monday that it wanted a big say in the future of Liontown while spelling out concerns about Liontown’s flagship Kathleen Valley project in the northern goldfields of Western Australia. Hancock said it had not bought any shares above the Albemarle asking price of $3 in acquiring its stake over a period when lithium prices have slumped.

Hancock cast doubt on whether Kathleen Valley could be delivered on time and budget and operated successfully without its help. Hancock does not operate underground mines but said it had “demonstrated project development and operations ramp-up capability”, chiefly through the successful delivery of the $10 billion Roy Hill iron ore project.

Hancock has signalled it would seek a seat on Liontown’s board, depending on what happens in the Albermarle takeover offer.

Whatever happens, things got a lot harder for Liontown to execute.

Suncorp Bank [ASX:SUN] CEO Clive van Horen has announced his departure just before the annual general meeting was set to begin in Brisbane.

The announcement comes amidst the contentious sale of the banking arm of Suncorp to ANZ, worth approximately $4.9 billion.

Mr van Horen, who has been a vocal advocate of the sale, appears to be frustrated as the ACCC blocked the sale, citing competition reasons in its judgement.

The decision is now under appeal, but it appears it will not happen soon enough for Mr van Horen, who some had thought was hoping to join ANZ after the sale.

This is not the first time Suncorp has faced an unexpected CEO jump, with his predecessor Lee Hatton leaving the role back in 2020 after only two months to join Afterpay.

Suncorp has said they still hope the deal will progress after the appeal, with expectations of the deal completing mid-CY24.

Australia’s Federal Court has fined ANZ $15 million for misleading customers over the funds available in credit card accounts.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) filed the case in 2022, alleging that almost 166,000 ANZ customers were charged cash advance fees and interest for withdrawing money they believed they had in accounts based on incorrect account balances.

The ASIC said some customers were charged thousands of dollars in fees as a result, with the total averaging around $47 per customer.

Good morning investors,

The markets are set for a tough day of trading, with ASX 200 futures pointing to the XJO slipping this morning.

The ASX 200 has opened down 0.38% at 7,049.7

• $AUD flat +0.01% at 64.22 US cents
• ASX futures down -0.31% to 7,088.5
• S&P 500 up +0.40%
• NASDAQ up +0.45%
• DOW up +0.13%
• FTSE down -0.78%
• STOXX down -0.95%
• SSE down -0.54%
• Bitcoin up +0.41% to $US 26,287
• Spot gold down -0.45% to $US 1,916.19
• Iron ore down -0.30% to $US 121.33
• Brent Crude down -0.13% to $US 93.41pb

All figures shown are from 10:15am AEST