Profit upgrades and a record lead from Wall Street’s S&P 500 saw our market rise this Thursday. The S&P / ASX 200 climbed 23 points or 0.3% to 7,639.
AGL Energy (AGL) jumped 10% to $8.80 after quadrupling its profit and signalling a more bullish outlook.
Cochlear (COH) rose 4.4% to $304.74 after upgrading its FY24 guidance.
Six of the 11 sectors in the index rose, with IT being the best performing, up 1.2%, and utilities rising by 1% boosted by AGL’s gain.
Consumer staples, energy, healthcare and telcos lagged.
CSR (CSR) shares came under further pressure following a profit downgrade from 'add' to 'hold' by Morgans, just a day after UBS also reduced its rating on the company.
And more woes for China’s economy, as it heads into the Year of the Dragon. CPI fell 0.8% year on year in January, the worst annual drop since September 2009, which was the peak of the global financial crisis. Producer prices fell 2.5% year-on-year. The deflationary pressures add to concerns about China as the country's share market and property sectors continue to face stress.