Aust shares flat as BHP, Coles and Woodside disappoint

Australian shares had been collectively flat at noon, partly weighed down after BHP, Woodside and Coles reported earnings that upset the market, at the very least initially.

At midday AEST on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 0.9 factors, or 0.01 per cent, to 7114.6, whereas the broader All Ordinaries had gained 2.7 factors, or 0.04 per cent, to 7338.6.

BHP was down 1.6 per cent to $42.84 as Australia’s largest firm introduced a 58 per cent fall in internet revenue to $US12.9 billion, amid price pressures and world financial uncertainty.

Woodside had dropped 1.1 per cent to $38.035 because the petroleum large recorded a half-year internet revenue after tax of $US1.7 billion ($A2.7 billion), up six per cent from the earlier yr.

Coles had dropped 5.8 per cent to a nine-month low of $16.235 because the grocery store large introduced a weaker-than-expected 4.8 per cent rise in revenue, to $1.1 billion.

Strong features for Altium and Megaport propelled the tech sector up 5.8 per cent, placing it on tempo for its finest efficiency in additional than a yr.

Altium had surged 28.3 per cent to an all-time excessive of $47.315 after the printed circuit-board software program firm reported better-than-expected earnings and subscriber progress.

Megaport was up 18.9 per cent to $12.35 after the cloud connectivity firm raised its 2023/24 steerage and introduced it anticipated to be cash-flow optimistic for the yr.

However, Data#3 was down 18 per cent to $6.16 after the IT providers supplier introduced its full-year revenue was up 22.4 per cent to $37 million.

Also reporting earnings had been Kogan, which fell 10.2 per cent to $5.13; ARB Corporation, down 4.2 per cent to $32.13; Allkem, up 3.0 per cent to $14.28; and Scentre Group, which had gained 4.6 per cent to $2.76.

The Big Four banks had been combined, with CBA down 0.3 per cent, Westpac up 0.5 per cent, ANZ flat, and NAB climbing 0.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Australian greenback was shopping for 64.16 US cents, from 64.03 US cents at Monday’s ASX shut.