The market may have closed lower today but that has not stopped three ASX 200 shares from hitting new multi-year highs.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) slipped 0.2%, with most sectors closing in the red on Thursday.
But it isn't all bad news – especially not for the Brambles Limited (ASX: BXB) share price. Shares in the logistics group jumped 3.6% to a two-and-a-half-year high of $12.84.
Strong results pushing this ASX 200 share to a high
Brambles continued to bask in the afterglow of its pleasing full-year results, which were released yesterday. Not only did it manage to deliver a 9% constant currency increase in sales to US$5.6 billion, but it also delivered fatter margins.
The global supply chain indigestion could not derail the company's growth – showing how defensive its business is.
How important Brambles is to its customers is also evident in the fact that it could push through price increases during these volatile economic times.
Burning bright ahead of profit results
Another ASX 200 share that reached for the sky today was the Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price.
Shares in the coal miner gained 2.2% to $6.93 – which is a more than 10-year high. Investors are banking on great things when it hands in its profit results later this month.
Expectations are set high as energy prices have soared following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A coal shortage in China is giving the miner an extra boost too.
The positive macroeconomic backdrop helped this ASX 200 miner achieve a record average coal price of $514 a tonne in the June quarter.
Whitehaven is expecting its FY22 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to hit around $3 billion. That's 15 times what it made the year before!
The ASX 200 share that hit a record high
The Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price is the third ASX 200 share scaling new heights. The supermarket giant inched up 0.4% to hit a record high of $19.38 on Thursday.
Coles is yet to release its full-year results, but investors are feeling confident about a good outcome. While most companies are feeling the heat from high inflation, supermarkets benefit from higher prices. This is because they can charge more at the checkout, which means increased sales.
The March quarter sales update from Coles showed as much. Its supermarkets delivered a 3.9% increase in sales when compared to the same period last year.
Throw in the fact that consumer staple shares like Coles have defensive qualities, and you can understand the attraction given rising rates and a slowing economy.
