End of Day Report – Wednesday 26 February: ASX 200 falls 11 points as banks rally | WTC gets a new chair

 The ASX 200 finished down around 11 points at 8241(0.1%) with CPI coming in as expected. Once again results were the focus, banks found buyers with the Big Bank Basket up to $253.05 (+1.1%) with CBA leading the way up 1.3%. MQG rose 0.6% and insurers flat. REITs were weaker, GMG falling 1.6% and SCG off 3.3% on results. Industrials mixed again, WTC rose 2.1% as White became Chair and results showed no further surprises, the All-Tech Index still fell 1.3% with TLS under pressure off 1.9% and QAN down 2.3%. Retail stocks mixed, JBH off 0.6% with LOV finding friends in all the right places up 5.7%. Travel stocks arrived jet lagged as FLT touched down 10.2% and CTD fell 3.6%. DMP hit another 3.7% with LNW better by 7.8% on results. Resources were back in the doghouse as iron ore fell, FMG dropped 6.2% as it went ex-div, BHP off 1.5% and RIO down 3.4%. Gold miners ran out of luck, NST down 2.8% and EVN off 1.7%. NEM off just 2.0%. LYC fell 1.7% after results showed the effects of low REE prices. Uranium stocks showed more fall out with PDN results bringing no joy and coal down too. WDS gained 3.4% after broker comments. STO going nowhere. In corporate news, WOW fell 3.0% after cutting its dividend, PBH had an abundance of bid interest around the 106c level, up 32.5%. BAP rose 13.4% and WOR up 10.3% on results whereas APX crashed 33.3% on disappointment. PTM also suffering as results were nasty, off 20.0%. KLS was another casualty today, maybe just a flesh would, but down 15.2%. In economic news, the CPI came in as expected and hardly moved the dial. Asian markets mixed, Japan down 0.8% and HK up 2.8% with China up 0.6%.  10-year yields at 4.37%. 

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