Australian Foundation Investment (ASX:AFI, NZE:AFI) repurchased 302,200 of its ordinary shares on Wednesday for AU$2 million in total as part of an on-market buyback, according to a Thursday filing with the Australian and New Zealand bourses.
The company plans to repurchase a total of 111.9 million of its ordinary shares, the filing said.
Marimaca Copper's (ASX:MC2) latest drilling results continued to show that mineralization at the Pampa Medina copper prospect in Chile is not limited to isolated high-grade zones, but appears laterally continuous across the central high-grade area, Euroz Hartleys said in a note on Wednesday.Step-out drilling results from the Pampa Medina prospect reinforce the scale potential and continuity of the system. This demonstrates potential for Pampa Medina to develop into a large-scale, vertically extensive system.The combination of broad mineralized widths, higher-grade internal zones, and silver credits continues to support the potential for future bulk mining and a low-cost operation.At a copper price of around $5.80 per pound, the Marimaca oxide deposit would generate life-of-mine average earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of over $450 million per annum.The investment firm maintained its speculative buy recommendation on Marimaca Copper with a AU$16.94 per share price target.
Australian banks' reporting season in May was "underwhelming" and they faced a rapid and material shift in operating conditions, according to Morgan Stanley analysts Richard Wiles and Sally Hong, the Australian Financial Review reported Wednesday.Morgan Stanley downgraded fiscal 2027 cash earnings-per-share estimates by 4% since March as revenue growth slows, credit demand weakens, and loan losses gradually rise, reversing an upgrade in February.Three hikes in the official cash rate, proposed changes to property-related tax measures in Australia's federal budget, as well as the impact of the global energy shock all contribute to the uncertainty in outlook for banks, per Morgan Stanley.The investment firm preferred ANZ Group Holdings (ASX:ANZ, NZE:ANZ) over Westpac Banking (ASX:WBC, NZE:WBC), National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB), and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA).(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)
South Korea's main equity exchange, the Korea Exchange, is planning to launch weekly options on single stocks from June, expiring on Thursdays, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.The exchange is also gearing up to launch monthly and weekly exchange trade fund (ETF) derivatives later in 2026, while expanding weekly options expiries for the Kospi 200 and Kosdaq 150 indexes to Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from the current schedule of Mondays and Thursdays, the report said.The country's main bourse Korea Composite Stock Price Index or Kospi is driven by gains made by heavyweight chipmakers Samsung Electronics (KRX:005930) and SK Hynix (KRX:000660), which led it to surge nearly 70% on a year-to-date basis. This surge has made the Kospi the world's best-performing major equity index, it said.Shares of Samsung Electronics fell nearly 3% in recent trade.(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)