Hello everyone! Good morning. This is Holly live from Kalkine Studio in Sydney.
And you’re watching the Early Trades. Let’s, get started with our market open
report.
Australian shares have jumped 0.2 per cent in the opening minutes of trade, as the benchmark
index inches closer to its record intraday high.
Macquarie extended its rally, rising 2 per cent, while Commonwealth Bank added 0.7 per
cent, NAB firmed 0.7 per cent, Westpac advanced 0.7 per cent and ANZ climbed 0.1 per cent.
Platinum Asset Management is leading the market, rising 3.1 per cent. Santos climbed 1.4 per
cent and Magellan added 0.9 per cent. Buy now, pay later stocks were among the biggest
laggard as Afterpay declined 4.2 per cent and Zip Co dropped 2.8 per cent.
Yesterday, the benchmark index was up by 2 percent on the first day of trading in 2022.
All eleven ASX sectors finished higher, with the energy and mining sectors leading the
pack. There were around 48,000 new COVID cases across all Australian states on Tuesday, a
new national record. But experts believe we won’t reach peak levels until a few months
from now. On the economics data front, the ANZ monthly job applications report will be
released later today.
Looking at some important news coming in from energy sector.
The US became the world’s No. 1 exporter of liquefied natural gas for the first time
ever last month, as deliveries surged to energy-starved Europe. Output from American facilities edged
above Qatar in December after a jump in exports from the Sabine Pass and Freeport facilities,
according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Cheniere Energy said last month
that a new production unit at its Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana produced its first cargo.
On the other hand, Australia is expected to reclaim its title as the world’s biggest
exporter of liquefied natural gas after shipments hit a record high last year amid a huge rally
in global energy demand and prices. Cargoes of the super-chilled fossil fuel from Australia
rose to an estimated 80.9 million tonnes in the 2021 calendar year, according to figures
from energy consultancy EnergyQuest, beating the nation’s pre-pandemic level of 77 million
tonnes and likely exceeding output from second-biggest LNG shipper Qatar.
Moving on to the energy space. OPEC and allied oil-producing countries plan to stick with
their road map to slowly restore cuts in output made during the depths of the pandemic, including
adding 400,000 barrels per day in February. Oil prices rallied by more than 1 per cent
overnight after the announcement. Analysts had been expecting the move amid signs that
the omicron COVID-19 variant won’t have a severe impact on oil demand.
And now, before we move to look at some important updates from ASX listed companies, lets take
a small break
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Welcome back. Holly this side.
Moving on to the newsmakers.
CIMIC Group’s Leighton Asia has been awarded a contract to build a data centre campus in
Jakarta, Indonesia, for a multinational technology corporation. The contract will generate revenue
of around $103 million for Leighton Asia. Construction works comprise the delivery of
site infrastructure for the campus, a data centre building with two data halls and associated
buildings for storage, security and other operational facilities, as well as mechanical,
electrical, and plumbing services, façade and external works.
Telecommunications innovator Vonex has completed its acquisition of Voiteck. Voiteck is an
established provider of voice and internet services to SME customers in South Australia.
Founded in 2009 by telecommunications industry veteran Declan O’Callaghan. Voiteck's established
presence across several niche verticals and its strong standing in the South Australian
market will launch Vonex into a new geographic region which presents exciting growth opportunities.
Tyro Payments has announced the appointment of Claire Hatton and Shefali Roy to its board
of directors with immediate effect. Ms Roy was the chief operating officer at TrueLayer.
Prior to that, she has held senior leadership roles in operations, compliance and regulatory
affairs at Stripe, Apple, Christies and Goldman Sachs. Ms Hatton spent seven years on the
Google Australia commercial leadership team before transitioning into a portfolio career
and non-executive roles.
And before we wrap the show, big news coming in from Canberra. Australia and Japan are
to sign ‘landmark’ defence pact. Tokyo’s top diplomat in Canberra has declared that
a landmark defence pact between Australia and Japan will send a strong message of deterrence
to a more aggressive China. The agreement will open the way for the two countries’
militaries to step-up joint training and hosting each other’s forces. The long-awaited Reciprocal
Access Agreement between Australia and Japan is expected to be signed on Friday, even though
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida cancelled a trip to Sydney and a meeting with Scott
Morrison because of COVID-19 concerns. The two leaders will instead hold a virtual summit.
As well as China, they are going to discuss trade, supply chains and the emerging hydrogen
industry’s role in mitigating climate change.
Well, that’s all for now on the early trades! Stay tuned to Kalkine TV as we have many
more shows lined up for you for sharing live updates across the economy, markets, and sectors. This
is Holly signing off!