Consumer trust isn’t something to be taken for granted, but reports from the UK, US and here at home are all pointing towards an uplift in trust levels around financial advice, which can only be a welcome development.
There are significant tailwinds behind the financial advice industry at the moment, but some major obstacles are still preventing advice practices from taking advantage of surging demand according to a new study from CFS.
ASX rally continues, CBA boosts dividend, Mineral Resources falls
The S&P/ASX200 continued a recent strong run gaining another 1.1% on Wednesday with Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) a key contributor.
The financial and technology sector are seeing strong support as earnings season steps up another gear, they gained 2.6 and 4.2% respectively.
In an about-face from recent weeks, the energy and material sectors underperformed after BHP (ASX: BHP) fell due to another warning on the iron ore price by the Chinese Government.
CBA rallied close to 6% after the company reported a $4.7 billion half-year profit, an improvement of 23% on the prior year.
The result was driven by an acceleration in personal and business lending, which reported 8.5 and 12.4% growth compared to 2020 levels.
This was some 20 and 70% higher than the rest of the Big Four Banks.
The strong volumes were able to overcome a further weakening in the net interest or profit margin to 1.92%, with management saw fit to report a $1.75 dividend, 16% higher than the prior year.
Costs hit MinRes amid lithium boom, Megaport, Magellan jump
Popular iron ore and lithium miner Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) felt the full brunt of underdelivering in earnings season falling 8.9%.
The company reported a sharp drop in earnings and a net loss of $36 million, representing a 108% fall from the prior year’s profit.
The collapse in iron ore prices and widening discounts on commodity sales combined with a 60% surge in the cost of exporting products was the major driver.
According to management, the issues have been widespread including shipping and haulage prices as well as staffing issues at their new mine.
The result was a cancellation of the dividend and growing concerns about the outlook for the uber-popular lithium sector.
Magellan Financial Group (ASX: MFG) continued its turnaround from the shock departure of the CIO with shares gaining 5.6% after a number of research houses held fire on recommending the sale of the Global Fund.
Temple & Webster (ASX: TPW) was another winner, jumping 9.7% after delivering record revenue that was 46% higher than the prior year.
Active customers are now nearing 1 million with revenue gaining 10%.
Market rally continues ahead of inflation data, Chipotle banks on expansion
The US sharemarket continues to recover lost ground, with a rally in tech shares including Meta Platforms (NYSE: FB), which gained 5%, sending the Nasdaq 2.1% higher.
The Dow Jones underperformed, gaining 0.9 and the S&P500 added 1.5 ahead of another inflation data print on Friday Australian time.
If the result is below the 7.2% annual rate predicted, the market could well take off once again.
Overnight the gold sector was the winner with commodity prices gaining on a weakening of the 10-year bond, which sent the after-inflation interest rate on offer to investors further into negative territory.
In company-specific news, Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) will report overnight with analysts hoping they avoided the Netflix slowdown, whilst Chipotle (NYSE: CMG) Mexican Grill gained more than 10%.
The company, which has similarities to the Magellan-owned Guzman y Gomez chain, doubled its profit to a record high after growing sales by 26%.
The group is banking on an acceleration of new stores in smaller towns.
