The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished today strongly, growing by 1.25% to 6,036 points after the release of yesterday's Australian federal budget.
Scott Phillips shared his thoughts on the budget in this article.
Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:
Shares react to the budget
Looking at the big ASX banks, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price went up more than 2%, the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price increased by over 2%, the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price grew by around 2% and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) share price share price rose by more than 2%.
Other large ASX 200 shares also reacted positively, particularly large employers. The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price went up 2.5%, the Coles Group Limited (ASX: COL) share price rose by 1.6% and the Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price climbed by 2%.
The aged care operators have fallen today. The Estia Health Care Ltd (ASX: EHE) share price fell by 2%, the Japara Healthcare Ltd (ASX: JHC) share price dropped by 3.7% and the Regis Healthcare Ltd (ASX: REG) share price declined by 1.4%.
Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)
Magellan announced today that its total funds under management (FUM) increased by $1.2 billion to $102 billion at the end of September 2020.
The fund manager said that in September it experienced net inflows of $1.2 billion which included net retail inflows of $239 million and net institutional inflows of $959 million. This largely appears to have helped its infrastructure equities grow by around $900 million.
In reaction to this update, the Magellan share price went up by more than 2%.
ARB Corporation Limited (ASX: ARB)
The ASX 200 vehicle accessories business provided a pleasing update to the market.
It said that it achieved sales growth of 17.7% for the first quarter of FY21 to 30 September 2020 compared to the previous corresponding period.
Based on its preliminary, unaudited management accounts, ARB's profit before tax for the quarter was $29.7 million. This guidance excludes non-recurring government benefits of $9.7 million for the quarter.
ARB said that excellent growth was achieved in export markets, while domestic Australian sales growth was moderate and, as expected, OEM sales decreased compared to the same period last year.
The extended lockdown in Melbourne had a negative impact on local sales during the quarter. The level of outstanding orders remains high and work is being done to overcome logistical difficulties and to increase production to reduce the order bank and better service customers.
The ASX 200's board thinks a substantial amount of the recent growth can be attributed to satisfying pent up demand created during the lockdown period. In addition, ARB's leadership thinks an increased trend towards local touring in several countries has been helping and government support has provided spending stimulus to people and businesses. Unless something economically drastic happens, export sales are expected to remain strong and the OEM order book is growing.
While the shorter term looks positive for ARB, management said that the future economic environment remains very uncertain and no guidance could be given for the rest of the financial year. The company warned the first quarter's performance shouldn't be used as an indicator of the likely full year result as it's too uncertain to predict.
As government and other COVID-19 related support reduces, the impact on economic activity will be monitored by management closely.
The ARB share price initially went up by more than 5% in early trading, but it finished the day higher by just over 2%.
