The ASX has rallied, achieving its eleventh straight month of gains, and is not far from record highs reached earlier this month.
The Australian sharemarket has ended the month and the official profit reporting season on a high note, racking up its longest winning streak in 78 years.
The S&P/ASX200 closed 0.41 per cent higher at 7534.9 while the All Ordinaries Index gained 0.45 per cent to 7823.3.
CommSec analyst James Tao said both indices achieved 11 straight months of gains, the first time that has happened since 1943.
OMG chief executive Ivan Tchourilov said tech and healthcare stocks were standouts, taking their lead from Wall Street overnight.
A big winner was Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals, which rocketed 10.69 per cent to $37.78, continuing its strong run since delivering record full-year results last week.
Regis Healthcare announced its full-year results alongside its first dividend since 2019, with a net profit of almost $20m comparing to a net loss of more than $700,000 previously – a figure that had to be restated due to potential employee underpayments.
These amounted to $7.1m for 2020-21 and $6.4m for the prior financial year.
“Aged healthcare has been under the pump since the royal commission and Regis specifically seemed to have everything stacked against it,” Mr Tchourilov said.
“Despite this, and with the help of some government grants, the company has turned a profit and grew occupancy rates by nearly 90 per cent.
“It’s an especially good result for an industry hot with mergers and acquisitions activity.
“Regis received a takeover offer earlier in the year, while Japara Healthcare recommended a takeover bid not long ago.”
Shares in Regis put on 5.08 per cent to $2.07 while Japara was steady at $1.37, the day after booking a big narrowing in its full-year net loss.
Another healthcare stock, Mesoblast, slumped 15.9 per cent to $1.66 after booking a near $US100m ($A136m) full-year loss, up from a $US77m ($A105m) net loss previously.
“Sales are down 77 per cent,” Mr Tchourilov noted.
“The US Food and Drug Administration recently knocked back Mesoblast’s remestemcel-L product, used for treating acute graft versus host disease, meaning further costs if they still plan on taking it to market.
“Looking forward, the company is at the whim of the FDA and its approvals.
“Given this year’s results, investors are expecting the company to lose more time and money before the product is approved.”
Tech stocks were strong performers, with Appen leaping 6.97 per cent to $10.74, WiseTech Global jumping 5.73 per cent to $48.34, NEXTDC rising 3.5 per cent to $13.24 and Afterpay adding 1.72 per cent to $134.59.
Harvey Norman reported full-year net profit of $841.4m, up 75 per cent.
Australian franchises were the standout performers, achieving a record profit of $628.19m, up 80.2 per cent, but lockdowns have hit sales for this financial year so far.
Shares in Harvey Norman retreated 3.24 per cent to $5.38.
Online retailer Kogan put on 3.08 per cent to $11.39 after Blackrock Group became a substantial shareholder.
Pointsbet added 1.67 per cent to $10.38 after posting a massive 351 per cent rise in full-year net loss to $187m, despite 228 per cent sports betting turnover growth, as it expanded in the US and marketing costs surged.
Webjet lifted 3.46 per cent to $5.69 after holding its annual general meeting and providing a trading update saying it would be cashflow positive for the first half of this financial year, and that the WebBeds B2B business had been profitable since July.
Mr Tchourilov said Domino’s Pizza showed “no signs of cooling” and was in his company’s top five most purchased stock, rising 3.38 per cent to $156.74.
“They delivered bumper yearly results a couple of weeks ago and the share price has since been rising steadily on the back of upgrades from analysts,” he said.
“With tasty-looking future plans, which included today’s acquisition of a Taiwanese pizza chain, Domino’s is building on a solid base and looking to open their 3000th store in the next two months.
“Trading volumes have kept up with the strong results – OMG investors seem to think the good news isn’t already baked into the price just yet, while some analysts are concerned that it’s not worth its dough and the chance to grab a golden crust from Domino’s may be past its best by date.
“At least any existing shareholders scored a fat dividend slice that’s topped off an epic period of growth.”
ANZ eased 0.54 per cent to $27.85, Commonwealth Bank dipped 0.3 per cent to $100.12, National Australia Bank appreciated 0.69 per cent to $27.73 and Westpac inched two cents higher to $25.82.
Rio Tinto weakened 0.94 per cent to $112.06, BHP slid 0.48 per cent to $45.61 and Fortescue backtracked 1.5 per cent to $21.
Mr Tchourilov warned investors to expect some short term volatility while investors re-reviewed earnings results, with reporting season now officially over.
The Aussie dollar was buying 73.42 US cents, 53.19 British pence and 62.03 Euro cents in afternoon trade.
Originally published as Australian sharemarket racks up 11 straight months of gains, not far from record high
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