ASX standouts: Thursday's big movers and gainers

The ASX is up 0.45% following a turbulent session on Wall Street, where major indices gave up early gains of more than 1.5% to close relatively flat. 

The US Federal Reserve concluded its two-day policy meeting, leaving interest rates on hold. The Fed signalled its plans to raise rates in March, followed by a significant reduction in its US$9tn balance sheet. 

“With inflation well above 2 percent and a strong labor market, the Committee expects it will soon be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate,” the Fed’s Open Market Committee said in a statement. 

The ASX is currently being buoyed by the big four banks and large cap energy and material stocks. 

11 ASX Sectors at 10:45 am AEDT

ASX winners 

Energy stocks have topped the leaderboards as oil prices continue to trend higher. Crude oil is trading at US$87.3 a barrel, up from last Monday’s lows of US$81.9/b. 

• Woodside Petroleum (ASX: WPL) 4.2%

• Santos (ASX: STO) 4.6%

• Beach Energy (ASX: BPT) 10.1%

Iron ore miners are another pocket of strength as spot prices inched 0.2% higher overnight to US$138.1 a tonne. 

• BHP (ASX: BHP) 2.8%

• Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) 4.2%

• Fortescue Metals (ASX: FMG) 1.8%

On the announcement front: 

#1 - PointsBet (ASX: PBH) rallied 9.4% after the bookmaker launched its online casino product in West Virginia. The sports betting company also went live in the lucrative state of New York on Tuesday. 

#2 - Jumbo Interactive (ASX: JIN) is up 4.4% after acquiring UK-based lottery manager and digital payments company Starvale Group for $32.1m. Jumbo views the acquisition as “transformational” for its international expansion strategy. 

#3 - Paladin Energy (ASX: PDN) is trading 5% higher after completing technical work programs for the restart of its Langer Heinrich uranium mine. The company confirmed an estimated project execution timeframe of 18 months between project commencement and first production. A decision to restart is still pending. 

ASX losers 

Wall Street led the way for a sharp decline in local tech stocks. Major tech-related ETFs including eCommerce, Cloud and FinTech fell sharply overnight, pushing 16-month lows. 

• WiseTech (ASX: WTC) -4.6%

• Xero (ASX: XRO) -3.8%

• Block (ASX: SQ2) -0.9%

Gold prices tumbled overnight after the Fed laid out their plans for a March rate hike. The Fed’s aggressive stance on balance sheet reduction and hawkish tone reversed much of gold’s recent gains. 

• Northern Star (ASX: NST) -4.1%

• Newcrest Mining (ASX: NCM) -2.4%

• Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN) -7.7%

On the announcement front: 

#1 - Kogan (ASX: KGN) shares tumbled -12% after its business update flagged a -58% decline in earnings. The update titled “Gross Sales and Revenue exceeded FY21’s record first half” spared only five words for its weak earnings, saying “Adjusted EBITDA was $21.7 million”. 

Kogan’s weak performance might also be weighing its eCommerce peers including Redbubble (ASX: RBL) and Temple & Webster (ASX: TPW), both down -2.4% and -3.5% respectively.