Asia
Australian Shares Hit Fresh New Record; REA Group Fiscal 2026 Core EPS, Revenue Up
Australian shares closed at another record high on Thursday amid optimism around diplomacy in the Middle East leading to a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.The S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.47%, or 43.80 points, to close at 9,271.60, reaching an all-time high.Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2% and 0.8%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5%. US Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook signalled that she would vote to raise interest rates if inflation did not abate.Gold bullion rose nearly 1% to around $4,280 per ounce and spot gold reached $4,277.41 per ounce.On the domestic front, Australia's goods balance recorded a seasonally adjusted surplus of AU$1.93 billion in June, up from a deficit of AU$2.37 billion in May, according to data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.The total number of dwelling units approved in Australia recorded a 7.2% month-on-month increase to 18,328 in June in seasonally adjusted terms after falling 1.6% in May, according to a report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.In company news, REA Group (ASX:REA) logged AU$4.935 in core earnings per share for fiscal 2026, compared with AU$4.274 a year ago. For the 12 months ended June, revenue was AU$1.73 billion versus AU$1.54 billion previously.Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) logged AU$0.1556 in underlying EPS for fiscal 2026, compared with AU$0.1976 a year ago. For the 12 months ended June 30, sales revenue was AU$1.8 billion versus about AU$2 billion previously.Lastly, AMP (ASX:AMP) logged AU$0.069 in underlying EPS for the first half, compared with AU$0.052 a year ago. For the six months ended June 30, revenue from ordinary activities was AU$1.43 billion versus AU$1.38 billion previously.
ASX 200ASX:AMPASX:BPTASX:REA