ASX 200 weekly wrap: CBA, Westpac, ANZ & NAB lead gains

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 finished the week 3.57% higher at 6,072 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 3.39% to 6,136 points.

Canstar General Manager of Wealth Josh Callaghan said investors had priced in a much more harsh set of recommendations than what the royal commission’s final report delivered.

“The removal of the uncertainty about what would be contained in the final report seems to have brought some bank investors back into the market and force their share prices up,” he said.

Commonwealth Bank led market value gains, with its market cap adding more than $8.8 billion and its shares rising 7.2% last week.

Mr Callaghan said alongside the softer-than-expected royal commission report, CBA’s half-year earnings results gave the bank a boost after they showed a slight increase in Earnings Per Share (EPS) and confirmed a $2 dividend for investors.

Meanwhile, medical equipment company ResMed dropped more than $13 billion in market value with its shares down nearly 5% after trading ex-dividend.

Weaker oil and gold prices last week weighed on the shares of oil and gas production company Beach Energy and gold miners Newcrest Mining and Resolute Mining with their share prices declining 9.2%, 2% and 8.4%, respectively.

Real estate portal Domain had the biggest share price fall in the market last week, with its shares plunging 13.4%.

Mr Callaghan said this was partly because the slump in housing prices appeared to be resulting in fewer property listings on the large real estate websites.

“REA Group, owner of realestate.com.au, published its earnings report last week which showed a drop of 10% in Sydney listings and declines in other areas,” he said.

“This sent REA and Domain shares down as investors anticipate the same trends to impact REA’s biggest rival.”

In other news, petrol company Viva Energy enjoyed a 22.4% share price surge after announcing it had signed a new 10-year fuel partnership with supermarket giant Coles.

The agreement means Viva Energy will now be responsible for setting the retail price of fuel and receive the retail fuel margin, while Coles will receive a commission per litre from Viva based on fuel volumes achieved.

Viva Energy’s Chief Executive Scott Wyatt said the announcement was a significant step forward in the long-standing alliance with Coles Express and that the new arrangement would benefit both their customers and shareholders.

Coles did not perform well last week, with its market value shrinking by $280 million on the back of its announcement that its Express service and convenience store division’s earnings would fall by almost 70% this year.