ASX poised to rise, Qantas AGM ahead, WiseTech Global shares in ...

3 hours ago

ABC News

A mostly positive lead from Wall Street has local futures pointing slightly higher. Tesla boosted the US market as stronger-than-expected earnings saw the stock soar.

Stocks to watch when the ASX opens include WiseTech, as boss Richard White steps down as CEO but will remain with the company earning $1 million a year, and Qantas, which will hold its AGM as engineers strike.

Follow the day's financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters on our live blog.

Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.

Key Events

What to expect at the Qantas AGM

36 minutes agoThu 24 Oct 2024 at 9:35pm

Stock to watch: WiseTech Global

54 minutes agoThu 24 Oct 2024 at 9:17pm

Tesla surges — adding more value in a day than GM and Ford combined

1 hours agoThu 24 Oct 2024 at 8:37pm

1h agoThu 24 Oct 2024 at 8:27pm

Market snapshot

ASX 200 futures: +0.2% to 8,248 pointsAustralian dollar: +0.1% at 66.38 US centsS&P 500: +0.2% to 5,809 pointsNasdaq: +0.8% to 18,415 pointsFTSE: +0.1% to 8,269 pointsEuroStoxx 600: +0.03% to 518 pointsSpot gold: +0.7% to $US2,735/ounceBrent crude: -0.4% to $US74.71/barrelIron ore: +1.7% to $US100.40/tonneBitcoin: +2.3% to $US68,119

Prices current around 7:25am AEDT

4m agoThu 24 Oct 2024 at 10:07pm

Report: 72% of harassment victims leave the tech industry

A new report by a female-led collective, Grapevine, has revealed women are leaving the technology industry in droves because of workplace harassment.

The report, compiled from over 300 submissions to Grapevine, finds 72 per cent of victims of discrimination or sexual harassment left their tech companies.

Alicia Barry spoke with Grapevine co-founder Paloma Newton, you can catch that full interview here:

21m agoThu 24 Oct 2024 at 9:50pm

Morningstar lowers estimate for WiseTech shares

Analysts at investment research firm Morningstar have lowered their estimate for the fair value of WiseTech Global stock, after founder Richard White stepped down as CEO following weeks of intense scrutiny.

Morningstar considers White's new consultant role to the tech firm as a demotion and a strong signal from the board — but it does see his continued involvement with company's business as a positive outcome for shareholders.

However, they've downgraded their fair value estimate downgrade for the company by 4 per cent to $105 a share, based on their assessment that the company will likely be run with less fiscal discipline than before.

WiseTech shares closed at $99.37 on Thursday, but the news of Richard White stepping down didn't hit the ASX until after the close of trade.

With Reuters

Key Event

36m agoThu 24 Oct 2024 at 9:35pm

What to expect at the Qantas AGM

Things don't officially kick off until 11am AEDT in Hobart, so we have a little time to kill.

But if you're the type that likes to plan ahead (or are partial to a spoiler) here's a sneak peek of what's on the agenda:

Opening speeches from chair John Mullen and CEO Vanessa HudsonShareholders vote on whether to elect two directors — John Mullen and Dr Nora Scheinkestel — to the Qantas boardShareholders vote on whether to re-elect director Antony Tyler to the Qantas boardProposal for CEO Vanessa Hudson to receive long-term bonuses depending on Qantas's performance outcomes

Once those items are taken care of, the main focus will be on Qantas's remuneration report — specifically, whether shareholders endorse the pay and bonuses received by the airline's directors in the last financial year.

At last year's AGM, the remuneration report was the subject of massive shareholder discontent after Qantas's very bad, no good year in the headlines — and received one of the largest protests votes in Australian corporate history as a result.

That gave Qantas what's known as a "first strike", and if they get a second today, that could spell even more headaches for the airline.

Key Event

54m agoThu 24 Oct 2024 at 9:17pm

Stock to watch: WiseTech Global

Shares in software logistics firm WiseTech Global have been closely followed in recent weeks, as founder (and now former CEO) Richard White hit the headlines, and is now being investigated by the company's board.

The stock price tells the story — here's a chart of WiseTech shares over the past three months:

WiseTech shares over 3 months(LSEG Refinitiv)

Richard White, the major shareholder, has been selling down his own stake in the company, so the fall has hit his personal fortune.

It's worth noting however that WiseTech shares are nearly 32 per cent higher since the start of the year.

1h agoThu 24 Oct 2024 at 9:08pm

Happy Qantas AGM day to those who celebrate

Hello! This is your blog co-captain speaking, and I'll be guiding you through all things Qantas when its annual general meeting gets underway today.

We're scheduled for takeoff at 11am AEDT and will be spending a few hours down in Hobart, where this year's AGM is being held.

But I won't be riding solo — I'll be joined by Fiona Blackwood and Jano Gibson who are in Hobart and heading along to the meeting to keep us in the loop.

While we wait for things to get started later this morning, I'll be popping in periodically to get you up to speed before the main event kicks off.

And of course, if you've got any questions, send them in and I'll do my best to answer them.

1h agoThu 24 Oct 2024 at 8:53pm

ICYMI: How AI is helping assess your home loan

If artificial intelligence sounds futuristic to you, think again — the future is now! Well, in your home loan approval process at least…

Our reporter Nassim Khadem took a look inside the major banks and how they're already using AI to help assess home loans and monitor customer phone calls.

Seems like AI bots are pretty good at summarising customer files and validating documents like pay slips, cutting work from hours to mere seconds in some cases.

They're not so good at reading conversation vibes just yet… the Finance Sector Union cites an example where AI classified a call centre worker's comment about the weather unfortunately being bad as 'negative' due to the word 'unfortunately' being used.

Have you ever heard of small talk, bot?!

You can read more here:

Key Event

1h agoThu 24 Oct 2024 at 8:37pm

Tesla surges — adding more value in a day than GM and Ford combined

A big boost to Wall Street came from carmaker Tesla — which ended the session 22 per cent higher after its earning surprised to the upside.

That means it added more to its market cap in a single session than the value of General Motors and Ford combined.

It surpassed the value of companies including Walmart and JPMorgan Chase to be the 12th most value company traded in the US.

Investors were impressed by the companies earnings report, and have recently been anticipating the Tesla robotaxi fleet, which could be operational in Texas and California as early as next year.

Elon Musk said the company has already been testing the service in the San Francisco area with employees.

With Reuters

Key Event

1h agoThu 24 Oct 2024 at 8:28pm

Stepping down, not out: Richard White to remain at WiseTech

A big development in one of the major corporate stories in recent weeks occurred after the close of trade on Thursday.

WiseTech Globalannouncedfounder Richard White would step down as chief executive.

It follows Mr White's personal affairs hitting the front pages, with the company's board now investigating "specific issues" raised in reports by Nine newspapers.

However, this is far from a clean break, or an exit at all.

Here are the details of Mr White's 'transition', as WiseTech, put it:

He has stepped down as CEO with immediate effect and take a short period of leaveHis new consulting role has the title "Founder and Founding CEO"It's a full-time role paid $1 million a year — his current salaryThe role has a 10-year term, and can be extended for a further 5 years if the company and Mr White agreeHe can be terminated with 2 years' notice, except for "misconduct or material breach"He'll be at the company's AGM in about a month's time