ASX 200 Live Today - Tuesday, 4th August

Welcome to our live ASX coverage for Tuesday, August 4. Expect a high volume of posts pre-market and more periodic updates throughout the day. We'll be wrapping the blog up around 2:00 pm AEST. Let us know how we can make it even better.

Acusensus wins statewide work zone enforcement contract in Kentucky

[9:26 am] Acusensus has secured a Master Agreement in Kentucky worth up to US$20 million, adding a third statewide US work zone program to its recurring revenue base.

• Initial order of ~US$2.1m over one year, with total contract value reaching up to US$20m if all options are exercised

• Agreement runs to 31 July 2028, extendable through three one-year options to 31 July 2031

• Revenue is recurring, based on a fixed monthly fee per trailer and not linked to citation volumes

• Third concurrent statewide US program alongside Connecticut and Arkansas, following a pilot running in Kentucky since September 2025

• Fleet deployment underway, with some assets already in Kentucky and the balance due before the start of 2Q FY27

• Commercial protections included in the event of early termination for convenience by KYTC

Company page: Acusensus (ACE)

Centuria Office REIT hits guidance but flags a distribution cut for FY27

[9:26 am] COF met its FY26 FFO and distribution targets, though a step-down in FY27 payout guidance points to a more cautious income outlook.

• FFO of 11.2c per unit vs 11.0c ests (2% beat), in line with guidance

• Statutory NPAT of $55.2m, swinging back to profit from a $19.8m year-ago loss

• Distributions of 10.1c, in line with guidance

• NTA of $1.66 per unit, with the $1.8bn portfolio at 91% occupancy and a 4.0-year WALE

• WACR expanded 16bps to 7.04%, though like-for-like valuations still rose 1.0% on rental growth

• FY27 guidance of 11.3c FFO alongside a cut in DPU to 9.0c, implying a 10.1% distribution yield

Company page: Centuria Office REIT (COF)

Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT grows earnings but lands shy of ests

[9:24 am] CQE delivered double-digit operating earnings and distribution growth in FY26, though both the result and FY27 guidance came in below consensus.

• Operating EPU up 13.1% to 17.3c vs 18.0c ests (4% miss)

• Operating earnings up 12.6% to $64.2m vs $57.0m a year ago

• Statutory NPAT up 27.5% to $90.5m, well ahead of the $64.1m ests

• Distributions up 11.8% to 17.0c, in line with guidance

• NTA up 1.8% to $3.93 per unit, with the $2.3bn portfolio at 99.7% occupancy and a 11.4-year WALE

• FY27 guidance of no less than 18.1c EPU vs 19.0c ests, alongside DPU of 18.0c

Company page: Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT (CQE)

Qantas exits Jetstar Japan in $74.4m buyback deal

[9:07 am] Qantas has agreed to sell its 33.32% stake in Jetstar Japan via a share buyback, booking a sizeable one-off gain even as the exit value sits below the expected accounting benefit.

• Divesting 33.32% stake in Jetstar Japan through a ¥8.2bn (~$74.4m) share buyback, with completion expected by June 2027

• Estimated gain of ~$115m to items outside of underlying, predominantly landing in FY27

• DBJ enters as new shareholder while Tokyo Century and JAL retain their existing positions

• JJP to rebrand away from the Jetstar name once the transition completes

• Deal remains conditional on regulatory approvals

Company page: Qantas Airways (QAN)

Credit Corp lands FY26 earnings mid-guidance but revenue and outlook underwhelm

[9:04 am] Credit Corp delivered FY26 NPAT in the middle of its guidance range and slightly ahead of consensus, though softer revenue and a modest FY27 profit outlook temper the result

• NPAT of $105.5m vs $104.3m ests (1% beat), landing mid-range against $100-110m guidance

• Revenue of $586.0m vs $590.0m ests (1% miss)

• Final dividend of $0.455 fully franked, record date 15 September and payable 25 September

• FY27 NPAT guidance of $110-118m vs $115.0m ests, the $114m midpoint broadly in line

• FY27 EPS guidance of $1.61-1.73 vs $1.68 ests, the $1.67 midpoint just shy

• FY27 settings include gross lending of $445-495m and ledger investment of $200-280m, targeting long-term growth ROE of 16%

Company page: Credit Corp Group (CCP)

Palantir smashes Q2 estimates, lifts FY26 guidance again

[8:54 am] Palantir beat across the board on AI-driven demand, with US commercial revenue up 149% and full-year guidance raised well ahead of consensus. The stock is trading 14% higher after hours.

• Q2 revenue of $1.94bn beat consensus $1.8bn (8% beat) and rose 93% y/y, with adj EPS of $0.41 topping $0.35 (17% beat)

• US commercial revenue surged 149% to $764m, US government up 90% to $809m, total US revenue up 115% to $1.6bn

• Adj operating income of $1.19bn vs. $1.06bn ests, with a Rule of 40 score of 155%

• FY26 revenue guidance lifted to $8.15-8.16bn, crushing consensus $7.69bn, with US commercial revenue now seen above $3.4bn

• Q3 revenue guided to $2.160-2.164bn vs. $2bn consensus

ISM manufacturing jumps to four-year high, topping consensus

[8:52 am] US factory activity accelerated in July, with the headline index beating expectations and new orders and employment both improving.

• ISM Manufacturing at 55.6 vs 54.0 ests and June's 53.3, the highest since May 2022 and a seventh straight month of expansion

• Production surged to 58.5 from 52.2, the strongest since November 2021, while new orders rose to 56.7 from 56.0

• Employment back in expansion at 52.8 from 49.7, the first reading above 50 in 33 months

• Prices eased to 71.1 from 73.0 but stayed firmly in expansion, keeping input cost pressures elevated

• Demand commentary constructive, with respondents flagging AI infrastructure, semis, data centres and defence, though tariffs, geopolitical tensions and shipping disruptions are lifting freight, energy and sourcing costs

Trump touts Iran talks as "last chance", Tehran denies any negotiations

[8:50 am] Conflicting signals over renewed US-Iran diplomacy pushed oil lower and lifted Wall Street, with Trump claiming talks were under way while Iran insisted none are planned.

• Trump said negotiations were "going on right now" and framed them as a "last chance" for Tehran, after calling off what he described as the biggest attacks since World War II

• Iran denied any direct talks, saying its only negotiations are with Oman over a temporary shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz

• OPEC+ agreed to lift output by 188,000 barrels a day from September, adding to the oil decline

• Trump publicly scolded Exxon and Chevron for making "too much money" on high prices and urged them to cut pump prices

• The war is now in its sixth month with more than 50,000 US troops deployed, 18 service members dead, and Congress asked for a further $67bn

Amazon tops $3 trillion market cap as cloud-driven rally extends

[8:42 am] Amazon shares hit a record and closed up 4%, pushing the company past US$3 trillion for the first time after last week's earnings beat.

• Q2 adjusted EPS of $1.97 beat consensus $1.82 (8% beat), with revenue of $200.61bn topping estimates of $196.47bn (2% beat)

• AWS revenue of $42.2bn cleared StreetAccount consensus $40.54bn (4% beat)

• Capex guidance lifted to $220bn for the year, up from the $200bn flagged in February, on rising AI-linked memory prices

• Jassy warned capacity will still fall short of demand in 2026 and 2027, calling 2028 demand "striking"

• Monday marked Amazon's best session since May 5

Source: CNBC

Kospi slumps 5.1% as Samsung, SK Hynix lead fresh chip selloff

[8:35 am] South Korean and Japanese equities gave back last week's rebound, with Korean chipmakers again bearing the brunt of the selling.

• Kospi fell 5.12% to 6,257.45, with the two heavyweights, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, dragging the index

• SK Hynix sank 8.79% and Samsung Electronics lost 8.76%, the two heavyweights again dragging the index

• Weakness tracked a mixed US semi session, Micron off more than 5% and AMD and Qualcomm also lower

• Morgan Stanley lifted Korean equities to overweight from neutral, targeting Kospi 9,000 for about 36% upside and favouring industrials, defence and finance

Source: Trading Key

Goldman adds Microsoft, drops Broadcom in Conviction List reshuffle

[8:33 am] Goldman Sachs swapped four names for six in its August US Conviction List update, pitching the changes as a play on a broadening market.

• Six names added: Applied Materials, Delta Air Lines, Microsoft, O'Reilly Automotive, Viking Holdings and United Parcel Service

• Four dropped: Broadcom, Dick's Sporting Goods, Johnson & Johnson and ServiceNow

• Microsoft added on Azure acceleration, improving AI unit economics and Copilot monetisation, with Goldman tipping EPS growth to accelerate from 12% in FY27 to more than 20% by FY29

• Applied Materials seen gaining share at top DRAM makers and leading foundries on its deposition and etch tool exposure

• Delta flagged as best placed to capitalise on the industry's pricing power, with 300bps of margin expansion tipped over two years

• O'Reilly, UPS and Viking round out the additions on "Do it for Me" share gains, a profit inflection after three years of erosion, and higher-income customer exposure respectively

Source: YahooFinance

Good morning!

[8:22 am] ASX 200 futures are flat, here's the overnight session in a nutshell:

• Major US benchmarks all pushed higher after cooling tensions in the Middle East

• S&P 500 (+1.48%) closed within 0.1% of all-time highs, Nasdaq (+2.13%) rallied on broad gains across Mag-7 and semis, while the Dow (+1.32%) closed at record levels

• Brent Crude slid nearly 8% to US$83.76 after President Trump called off what he described as the biggest planned attack on Iran since World War II 

• Amazon became the newest US$3 trillion company on strong cloud growth