End of Day Report – Thursday 29 Feb: Leap day for the year and market, hits highs

ASX 200 shrugs off early weakness to close up 38 points at 7699 (+0.5%). So close. Good gains in industrials, led by WES up 1.1%, ALL up 1.5% and supermarkets COL and WOW better. Banks were flat, the Big Bank Basket flat at $205.05 (+0.4%). MQG kicked 0.6% and QBE up 0.5%. REITs firm with GMG leading the charge on data centre attractions, up 3.8%. Retail stocks were firm on sales numbers, a little underwhelming in places but rate cut hopes stoked buyers appetite. ‘Old Skool’ platform stocks firmed, REA up 2.3% and CAR racing ahead up 2.1%.  Resources were mixed, Lithium stocks pushing ahead again in places, PLS up 0.7%, and PMT up 6.6%, with S32 up 4.6% on the sale of a coal business for $2.5bn. BHP and RIO flat, Gold miners better, NST up 1.8 % and EVN up 2.4%. Oil and gas stocks firmed, WDS up 0.6% and STO slipping 0.1%. In corporate news, last day of results, HVN defied the critics with better numbers up 4.4%, ALX down 1.1% to explore special dividends, and SGR jumped 8.3% on a net profit and remediation talk. IRE up 1.7% after it denied any knowledge of private equity interest. In economic news, retail sales 1.1% below expectations of 1.5%. Asian markets mixed again, Japan up 0.1%, China up 0.7%, and HK up 0.2%. 10-year yields steady at 4.15%. Dow Futures up 5 points. NASDAQ Futures down 11 points.

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