Corporate Controller Intern

Friday 31st July - asx 200 up a mere 9 pts - quarterlies continue - craziness in Korea - US futures better. The ASX 200 closed up a mere 9 points at 8,978 (0.1%), as a solid start gave way to caution ahead of the weekend. There was a bounce today in some of the oversold small and mid-cap stocks as the banks eased back, with CBA down 0.4% and ANZ down 0.5%, and the Big Bank Basket falling to $294.04 (0.5%). Financials were slightly firmer, with MQG leading the charge, up 1.2%. Other financials also bounced well, but insurers slipped, with QBE down 2.5% and IAG down 1.5%. Elsewhere, industrials were somewhat weaker, with WOW and COL seeing sellers, together with REA, CAR and SEK. Healthcare was also under pressure, with CSL down 3.8% and RMD falling 1.5%. Technology stocks eased back in the software space, but the hardware and data centre sector firmed, with WTC down 4.2% and NXT up 4.5%. In resources, buyers returned for BHP and RIO, together with the gold miners, which were stronger as EVN rose 1.9% and NEM gained 3.5%. Lithium stocks, though, remain weak, with PLS down 1.4% and LTR continuing to fall from grace. Oil and gas stocks flat, with WDS up 0.2% and STO up 0.1%, while coal stocks also slipped as uranium stocks bounced slightly. In corporate news, FMG took a $746.8m hit on its Iron Bridge project. ORG was up 0.9% with Octopus adding 2.2 million customers, while OBM had a good day as it expanded the footprint of its Little Gem Gold Project. MGH also got the tick of approval to sell its construction business to Heidelberg. In economic news, China factory activity unexpectedly contracted in July. Asian markets were better, with the Nikkei 225 up 4.3%, Hong Kong down 0.2%, China up 1.2%, and Korea up a record 17.4%. US futures were firmer, with the Dow up 242 points and the Nasdaq up 322 points. European markets are set to open around 0.5% higher. HIGHLIGHTS * Winners: 4DX, CU6, MP1, SLX, EOS, DYL, FFM * Losers: CIA, DMP, DRO, WTC, SMR, CSL * Positive Sectors: Iron ore. Gold miners. Uranium. * Negative Sectors: Banks. Tech. Insurers. * ASX 200 Hi 9060 Lo 8972 * Big Bank Basket: Eases to $294.04 (-0.5%) * All-Tech Index: Up 0.5% * Gold: Steady at $5805 * Bitcoin: Higher at US$64245 * 10-year yields: Lower at 4.92% * AUD: Rises to 70.28c * US futures were firmer, with the Dow up 242 points and the Nasdaq up 322 points MARKET MOVERS * 4DX +13.1% solid bounce. * MP1 +11.5% solid bounce. * EOS +9.7% oversold yesterday. * SXE +8.0% SKS +5.3% AI data centre bounce. * ZIP +8.1% buyers back. * PEN +22.2% quarterly report. * EOL +31.8% takeover bid at $17. * WTC -4.2% tech back under pressure. * DMP -5.2% sellers back! * DRO -4.2% sellers never left! * CSL -3.8% book squaring. * AIH -38.8% trading update., * Yesterday's Hero: KME +2.2% * Speculative Stock of the Day: Nothing on any volume. * Copper is headed for a monthly advance due to growing signs of tight supply. Up 3% in July. * BoJ holds rates steady * China's factory activity unexpectedly contracted in July for the first time since February, as domestic orders slumped and typhoons disrupted production. The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 49.2 from 50.3 in June. * South Korea's stock market staged its sharpest reversal on record on Friday, capping a month of wild swings. The benchmark Kospi was on track for its largest one-day jump. * SK Hynix up nearly 30% * AI investor Leopold Aschenbrenner forced to unwind all public stock positions after steep losses. Situational Awareness has sustained significant losses in recent weeks as its portfolio of AI infrastructure investments such as SK Hynix declined while short positions in software companies such as Adobe moved sharply against it. * Trump 'not sure' he will let Ukraine build Patriot missiles. * Big Tech AI spending spree tops $1tn. * Spain's migrant crisis triggers Italian call for EU travel restrictions. * Warsh's stripped-back Fed communication 'already backfiring', say investors. And finally... Two WiFi Engineers got married. The wedding was okay but the reception was amazing.

Heidelberg Materials reports 2026 second-quarter financial results. Tools. Germany: Heidelberg Materials recorded a rise in 6% year-on-year to €6bn, with a result from current operations of €1bn, an increase of 4% year-on-year. It said that the share of revenue from sustainable products grew to 38% in the first half of 2026, while specific net emissions were 510kg of CO[2]/t of cementitious material, in line with the previous year. It commissioned a new 1.25Mt/yr kiln line at its Airvault cement plant and the construction of the carbon capture facility in Padeswood, UK. In the first half of 2026, volumes were impacted by ongoing political and economic uncertainties, adverse weather conditions in certain regions - particularly in Europe and northeastern US - and the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, although the situation stabilised in the second quarter. Overall, this led to a slight increase in volumes compared to 2025. The group's cement and clinker deliveries were slightly above the 2025 levels. While volumes declined slightly in the Africa-Mediterranean-Western Asia and Europe areas, North America and Asia-Pacific recorded noticeable increases in volumes. Heidelberg Materials said that it expects demand in the construction sector to further stabilise, with a focus on price adjustments and cost management. Result from current operations is expected to be between €3.4bn and €3.65bn. "In an environment that remains geopolitically and economically very challenging, we generated strong momentum in the second quarter of 2026. A first noticeable recovery in demand in our core markets contributed to the good business performance," said Dominik von Achten, chair of the managing board of Heidelberg Materials. "In addition, we further accelerated our growth through strategic transactions. With acquisitions in North America and Türkiye, we have continued to expand our presence in attractive markets. We expect a good second half of the year and are confident that we will achieve our specified outlook for the financial year 2026."

Higher energy costs prompt Heidelberg Materials to raise prices. 30 July 2026 Heidelberg Materials has narrowed its full-year 2026 earnings guidance after higher energy costs linked to the conflict in Iran weighed on its outlook, prompting the company to introduce a fuel surcharge and implement price increases across its North American and European businesses. The Germany-based cement producer said it now expects its result from current operations (RCO) to reach between EUR3.4bn and EUR3.65bn (US$3.89bn-US$4.18bn) in 2026, compared with previous guidance of EUR3.4bn-EUR3.75bn. The revised range reflects rising costs for oil, gas and electricity following the outbreak of the conflict, as well as continued geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Heidelberg Materials said energy prices had risen significantly since the end of February, although it did not quantify the financial impact on its operations. It added that persistent inflation and elevated financing costs are expected to continue weighing on residential construction activity in many markets. To offset higher input costs, the company has introduced a fuel surcharge and announced price increases across its North American and European operations. Despite the more cautious outlook, chairman of the managing board Dominik von Achten said the company was beginning to see early signs of a recovery in demand across its core markets. 2Q2026 RCO increased by 3.6 per cent YoY to EUR1.09bn (US$1.25bn), exceeding analysts' consensus forecast of EUR1.06bn. According to an analyst poll compiled by the company, Heidelberg Materials is expected to deliver full-year RCO of EUR3.51bn, representing growth of around four per cent compared with 2025. TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE