ASX continues strong start to 2023

On Thursday, the ASX200 finished with a gain, moving up 41.90 points, or 0.57%, to 7,435.30 and establishing a new high for the last 100 trading days.

Along with the ASX 200 Index, 8 of the 11 sectors ended the day in the green. With a gain of 1.02 percent, the materials sector was the top performer.

Nanosonics Ltd. and Viva Energy Group Ltd. were the best performing companies in this index, increasing their value by 8.02% and 4.74% respectively.

Economic News

For December 2022, unemployment rate in Australia stayed unchanged at 3.5%. The participation rate stayed the same as before, at 66.7%. The number of people with jobs rose to 13,765,200.

In December 2022, producer prices for final demand in the United States grew 6.2% from a year earlier, following a revised 7.3% increase in November and compared to market estimates of a 6.8% increase.

The United States' retail sales climbed 6% year-over-year in December 2022, the same as November's downwardly revised 6% gain, and the worst rate since the end of 2020.

Quick Singles

• Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL) share price increased by 14.6% to $0.94 following the release of an update regarding anticipated results for the half year ended 31 December 2022.

• AGL Energy (ASX:AGL) share price fell 0.4% today to trade at $7.67. This follows the announcement that the company has appointed interim CEO Damien Nicks and interim CFO Gary Brown to permanent positions.

• Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price fell 1.6% to $7.24 this morning after the company reported record full-year production and revenue.

• Michael Hill International Ltd. (ASX: MHJ) share price fell 2.6% to $1.13 as a result of a trading update for the FY23H1 period that ended on January 1, 2023.

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Top Story

BHP Earnings 

The share price of BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) grew 1.2% to $49.68. For the three months ending on December 31st, BHP reported iron ore production of 66.9Mt, a quarterly increase of 3%. This was supported by record production at WAIO during the month of December, as a result of a strong supply chain performance and a reduction in the effects of labor shortages and wet weather.

This means that for the first half of the year, BHP produced a record 132Mt of iron ore, a 2% increase over the previous comparable period. In terms of pricing, BHP's average iron ore price for the period was US$85.46 per tonne, a decrease of 25% compared to the same period last year.

Copper production by BHP for the second quarter was 424.3kt, a 3% increase from the previous quarter. This was driven by higher volumes at Escondida as a result of higher throughput, higher concentrate volumes at Spence as a result of the Spence Growth Option ramping up, and strong volumes at Olympic Dam as a result of scheduled refinery maintenance in the prior period.

During the first half of the year, the Big Australian's copper operations produced 834.4kt (a 12% increase year-over-year) and realized an average realized price of $3.49 per pound.

Movers and Shakers

✅Biggest Winners 

DGL Group Ltd (ASX: DGL) shares increased 1.4% to $1.50. This industrial conglomerate announced the acquisition of Nightingale Transport this morning. The management believes that the $18.2 million acquisition represents an opportunity for strategic growth by expanding the company's national logistics reach and enhancing its offerings to key Australian industries.

DGL Group Ltd (ASX: DGL) shares increased 1.4% to $1.50. This industrial conglomerate announced the acquisition of Nightingale Transport this morning. The management believes that the $18.2 million acquisition represents an opportunity for strategic growth by expanding the company's national logistics reach and enhancing its offerings to key Australian industries.

❌ Biggest Losers 

Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL) share price was down nearly 9.2% to $12.65. This follows the quarterly release of an update by the provider of the investment platform. This update revealed a substantial decline in net inflows. The Commonwealth's net inflows of $2,087 million were 42% lower than the previous comparable period and 29% lower than the first quarter. This is a result of "larger-than-usual outflows from High Net Worth (HNW) investors and the middle market."

Nickel Industries Ltd (ASX: NIC) share price was down 6.7% to $1.05. This morning, the nickel producer announced that a $264 million institutional placement had been completed. These funds were raised at a price of $1.02 per new share, which represents a 9 percent discount from its previous closing price. The proceeds will be used to acquire new assets.

Small-Cap of the Day

Battery hit in Canada

After drilling a remarkable 156.9-meter-long interval grading 2.12% Li2O from 176 meters, including 25 meters of 5.04% Li2O, at the CV5 Pegmatite, a portion of the Corvette property in Canada, Patriot Battery Metals' (ASX:PMT) share price increased by 38.3% to $1.21. The majority of hard rock lithium mines across the world have ore grades that vary from 0.8% to 1.5% Li2O.

The report claims that it is the widest, highest grade lithium drill intercept that has been discovered at the CV5 Pegmatite, where mineralization has been found to extend over at least 2.2 kilometers of strike length. 24 drill holes from the 2022 drill campaign's assay findings have not yet been released.

Econcomic Calender

Outlook

A busy week both here in Australia and in the US with unemployment data dropping in the back end of the week the biggest news.

20th January

• US Initial Jobless Claim - est. 212k

• US Building Permits - est. 1.37M

• US Housing Starts Number - est. 1.36M

That's it from the team at ASX-News today. We hope you enjoyed our EOD wrap-up. Good night and happy investing!