ASX 200 weekly wrap: Telstra, CSL & Afterpay make gains
Telecommunications giant Telstra and vaccines and blood products group CSL saw some of the biggest gains on the share market last week.
Tesltra’s shares hit a three-month high last week despite increased earnings pressure from the rollout of the NBN and a $2.5 billion cost cutting program.
The telco’s shares jumped 8.8% over the week, boosting its market value by more than $2.9 billion.
Canstar’s General Manager of Wealth Josh Callaghan said Telstra reported a decline in net profit last week and signaled the NBN’s wholesale pricing structure was creating significant headwinds for the company.
“However, the market seemed to be buoyed by Telstra chief executive Andy Penn’s future focus on the 5G network in Australia coupled with his recently announced plans to shed costs,” Mr Callaghan said.
“While the turnaround is notable, it can’t be missed that it comes after a prolonged period of share price decline, having dropped 40% since the start of 2017.”
Mr Callaghan said the announcement from Mr Penn may have been enough to lure the bargain hunters.
CSL’s shares jumped 6.4% to close at $215.67 after it upgraded its outlook for 2018 and reported a 29% increase in net profit to $2.4 billion.
Telecommunications and healthcare were two top performing sectors last week, posting gains of 7.52% and 4.27% respectively, largely thanks to Telstra’s and CSL’s strong performances.
As for the wider market, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.97% to 6,339 points and the All Ordinaries gained 0.94% to 6,426 points over the week.
ASX 200 Listed Companies – Top 5 Biggest Market Cap Gains and Losses (13/08/2018 to 17/08/2018) | |||||||||
Biggest Gains | Biggest Losses | ||||||||
Rank | Company | $ Change in Market Cap | Closing Share Price | % Change in Share Price | Rank | Company | $ Change in Market Cap | Closing Share Price | % Change in Share Price |
1 | CSL Limited (CSL) | $5,899,306,223 | $215.67 | 6.4% | 1 | BHP Billiton Limited (BHP) | -$3,051,106,550 | $32.77 | -2.8% |
2 | Telstra Corporation Ltd (TLS) | $2,973,324,464 | $3.09 | 8.8% | 2 | Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) | -$1,935,827,223 | $74.29 | -1.5% |
3 | Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) | $2,798,494,882 | $30.28 | 3.3% | 3 | South32 Ltd (S32) | -$1,459,175,426 | $3.35 | -7.9% |
4 | Westpac Banking Corp (WBC) | $2,713,489,402 | $30.36 | 2.7% | 4 | Origin Energy Ltd (ORG) | -$1,301,945,067 | $8.89 | -7.7% |
5 | Wesfarmers Ltd (WES) | $2,483,110,130 | $52.57 | 4.3% | 5 | Insurance Australia Group Ltd (IAG) | -$1,089,061,199 | $7.78 | -5.6% |
Prepared by Canstar. Prices taken as of week to week close. |
CBA and miners in the red
Commonwealth Bank made some of the biggest losses on the ASX 200 last week, while ANZ and Westpac were both in the green.
Shares in Commonwealth Bank went ex-dividend on Wednesday and its share price dropped 1.5% over the week to close at $74.29 on Friday.
The bank’s wealth management business Colonial First State was questioned during the superannuation round of the royal commission hearings last week about its handling of MySuper transfers.
Miners also saw their share prices slump last week, with BHP Billiton, South32, and Mineral Resources making some of the biggest losses on the share market.
Mr Callaghan said softer commodity prices weighed on the mining stocks.
Afterpay still posting gains
‘Buy now, pay later’ company Afterpay has continued its winning streak on the ASX200, recording one of the top five biggest share price gains on the Aussie share market last week.
“Afterpay has continued its meteoric price rise after joining the ASX200 earlier this year,” Mr Callaghan said.
“Afterpay opened the year at $5.97 and after growing another 14% last week, closed at $16.61.”
ASX 200 Listed Companies – Top 5 Biggest Share Price Gains and Losses (13/08/2018 to 17/08/2018) | |||||||
Biggest Gains | Biggest Losses | ||||||
Rank | Company | Closing Share Price | % Change | Rank | Company | Closing Share Price | % Change |
1 | Breville Group Ltd (BRG) | $12.97 | 18.0% | 1 | Pact Group Holdings Ltd (PGH) | $4.25 | -20.7% |
2 | NIB Holdings Limited (NHF) | $6.59 | 15.6% | 2 | Iluka Resources Limited (ILU) | $9.37 | -16.3% |
3 | Seven West Media Ltd (SWM) | $1.06 | 14.6% | 3 | InvoCare Limited (IVC) | $12.66 | -11.9% |
4 | Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (APT) | $16.61 | 14.0% | 4 | Mineral Resources Limited (MIN) | $14.20 | -9.2% |
5 | IPH Ltd (IPH) | $5.56 | 13.7% | 5 | Sims Metal Management Ltd (SGM) | $14.71 | -9.0% |
Prepared by Canstar. Prices taken as of week to week close. |
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