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The laggards

Eagers Automotive shares lost 15 per cent of their value after Australia’s largest car dealership group warned that its half-year profits would be 15 per cent lower than last year.

Inghams shares closed 5.8 per cent lower, after earlier dipping as much as 10 per cent intraday, after Avian influenza was detected at an egg farm in Victoria. The shares recovered after the poultry supplier issued a statement saying neither its operations nor supply chain were affected.

Shares in telco giant Telstra continued their slide one day after announcing it would cut up to 2800 jobs. The stock fell 4.2 per cent after shedding 2.7 per cent a day earlier.

Under-fire Lendlease chairman Michael Ullmer announced he would step down at the property giant’s next shareholder meeting in November. The property giant’s shares fell 1.3 per cent.

Overnight, US stock indices again edged higher in another quiet day of trading.

The S&P 500 Index rose 0.3 per cent to surpass its record set last week. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.2 per cent, eclipsing its day-earlier high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.2 per cent to sit just below its high set last week.

Wall Street’s indices have climbed to records largely on expectations for the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates later this year, as inflation cools. More reports showing big US companies earning fatter profits than expected have also boosted the equity market.

Macy’s joined the chorus line of companies delivering a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts had expected. Its stock jumped 5.1 per cent.

The company, which operates 508 department stores across the United States, also raised the bottom end of its forecasts for upcoming sales and profit, spurring the advance.

Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Donald Trump’s truth social network, sank 8.7 per cent after disclosing a net loss of $US327.6 million in its first quarterly report as a publicly traded company.

Hopes for coming rate cuts to rates sent Treasury bond yields lower, easing pressure on the stock market.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.41 per cent, from 4.48 per cent late Monday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed actions, slipped to 4.83 per cent, from 4.85 per cent.

Tweet of the day

Quote of the day

“As far as three-word slogans go, ‘gas-led recovery’ was about as useful as ‘no new gas’ when it comes to helping us balance the economic, energy and environmental challenges reality ahead for us and our region. Let me be clear: gas has a role to play in our future, but emissions have to rapidly and permanently come down.”

That’s Resources Minister Madeleine King, who is supportive of more gas production while also distancing herself from the gas-led recovery proposed by the Coalition government three years ago that backed Australia’s second-biggest export commodity.

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BHP is nearing make-or-break on its multibillion-dollar takeover bid for rival miner Anglo American as the clock counts down to a key regulatory deadline that will require the Australian resources giant to increase its offer, make it binding, or walk away from its prey. A large investment fund with a substantial stake in BHP believes the company is likely to put a formal binding offer to Anglo’s board before the UK Takeover Panel deadline expires. “They will then stay in the game,” Dominic Mlcek, a portfolio manager at Infinity Asset Management, said.

With AP

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