QBE Insurance elevated to S&P\/ASX 20 as gold miner Newmont removed
\nFlight Centre and Pro Medicus both make the S&P\/ASX 100 in March rebalance
\nSeveral tech companies make benchmark S&P\/ASX 200 but not so good for resources\u00a0<\/p>\n
March has arrived, signalling the first month of autumn, Q4 for the Australian financial year and the latest rebalance of some key S&P\/ASX indices.<\/p>\n
Responsibility for rebalancing falls on S&P Dow Jones Indices, part of\u00a0credit rating agency S&P Global<\/a>.\u00a0 Indexes rebalanced in the latest quarterly review included:<\/p>\n S&P\/ASX 20 The March rebalance comes into effect before opening trade on Monday, March 18, 2024.<\/p>\n Of particular note in rebalances the S&P\/ASX 200 and S&P\/ASX 300 and are ones many fund managers or investors use as a cutoff for investments.<\/p>\n Entering the S&P\/ASX 300 is a major milestone for a company, signifying they\u2019ve made it to the big league.<\/p>\n READ: The great rebalancing act and how it can impact share prices<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n So what are the additions and removals in the March rebalance?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n QBE Insurance (ASX:QBE)<\/strong><\/a> was elevated to the S&P\/ASX 20 after seeing its share price lift 17% YTD.\u00a0 QBE announced in February FY23 statutory net profit after tax of $1,355m, compared with $587m in FY22.<\/p>\n Adjusted cash profit after tax increased to $1,362m from $664m in the prior year. Strong premium growth continued, with gross written premium growth of 10% supported by group-wide renewal rate increases of 9.7% and targeted new business growth.<\/p>\n The world\u2019s biggest gold miner Newmont Corporation (ASX:NEM)<\/strong><\/a> is out of the S&P\/ASX 20 after its share price slumped ~19% YTD. NEM recently announced it will divest six of its non core assets<\/a>, including its Telfer gold mine in the Pilbara to focus on its portfolio of tier one and emerging tier one assets.<\/p>\n Source: S&P Global<\/p>\n There was no change to the S&P\/ASX 50 index in the latest rebalancing.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n FLT has been elevated to the S&P\/ASX 100.\u00a0 The travel stock achieved a $106 million underlying profit before tax (PBT) for H1 FY24, a 565% increase on the pcp.\u00a0 \u00a0H2 FY24 results are in line with expectations with no change to the financial outlook previously provided to the market.<\/p>\n Health imaging stock Pro Medicus (ASX:PME)<\/strong><\/a> will also enter the S&P\/ASX 100 with its share price up 3.79% YTD. PME has announced record half year results<\/a> which met expectations.\u00a0 H1 FY24 net profit was $36.3 million 33.3% higher than the pcp with revenue of $74.1 million, up 30.3% on pcp.<\/p>\n An almost 17% rally YTD has not been enough for Alumina (ASX:AWC)<\/strong><\/a> \u00a0to maintain its spot in the S&P\/ASX 100. AWC in February announced it had received a non-binding proposal from Alcoa Corp<\/a> to acquire the company for a scrip consideration of 0.02854 shares of Alcoa common stock for each Alumina share.\u00a0 The proposal is at a 13.1% premium to the share price of Alumina on February 23, 2024.<\/p>\n Also on the out is REIT Region Group (ASX:RGN)<\/strong><\/a> which reported a statutory net loss after tax of $35m for H1 FY24, up by 63.2% on pcp.<\/p>\n Source: S&P Global<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n While several tech companies were elevated to the benchmark S&P\/ASX 200 in the March rebalance as investor interest in the sector continues to grow buoyed by the future potential of AI Weebit Nano (ASX:WBT)<\/strong><\/a> was ousted.<\/p>\n The heavily shorted semiconductor company reported ~$153k in revenue for H1 FY24 with a loss of $25.2 million, which it attributed to<\/a> \u201chigher research and development costs due to achieving multiple technology milestones\u201d.<\/p>\n Resource companies including former lithium darlings Core Lithium (ASX:CXO)<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 and Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA) <\/strong><\/a>have been removed from the S&P\/ASX 200 as falling commodity prices take a toll.<\/p>\n Stanmore Coal (ASX:SMR)<\/strong><\/a> was the only resources company added to the benchmark.<\/p>\n \u201cOur inclusion into the ASX 200 is a continued and further acknowledgement of the significant transformation Stanmore has undertaken and also of the financial strength of the company as evidenced by its recently released 2023 full year results,\u201d CEO Marcelo Matos says.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe announcement will further consolidate our recognition and reach in equity markets going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Source: S&P Global<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Bannerman Energy (ASX:BMN) <\/strong><\/a>was among\u00a0uranium stocks promoted to the S&P\/ASX 300 in the March rebalance.\u00a0 BMN has seen its share price rise ~9% YTD and more than 76% over the past year as interest in uranium grows.<\/p>\n The cost of uranium has been heading upward, now above US$100\/lb and is predicted to continue rising as demand rises for a rapid and cost-effective shift towards clean energy and governments increasingly adopt nuclear fuel to achieve ambitious carbon emission reduction goals.<\/p>\n Uranium stocks\u00a0Lotus Resources (ASX:LOT)<\/strong><\/a> and NexGen Energy (ASX:NXG)<\/strong><\/a> will also be added to the S&P\/ASX 300.<\/p>\n There were in total 14 new additions and 10 removals to the S&P\/ASX 300 in the latest rebalance.\u00a0 Among health stocks added was reproductive medicine company Monash IVF Group (ASX:MVF)<\/strong><\/a> along with Regis Healthcare (ASX:REG).<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n MVF in February announced solid H1 FY24 results, including revenue up 21.7% on pcp to $125.7m and underlying group NPAT\u00a0 increased 18.7% to $15m.<\/p>\n MVF reported EBITDA of $30m, up from $24.3m on pcp with underlying EBITDA of $32.2m while group revenue was $125.7m up 21.7%.<\/p>\n One of Australia\u2019s biggest funeral operators Propel Funeral Partners (ASX:PFP)<\/strong><\/a> was also a new addition to the S&P\/ASX 300.<\/p>\n PFP recently announced revenue of $102.9m for H1 FY24, up 22.8% on pcp with operating EBITDA of $27.4m, up 18.5% on pcp and pro forma operating NPAT of $11.7m, up 6.7% on pcp.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Source: S&P Global<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The All Ordinaries Index \u2013 which is the oldest index of shares on the ASX and made up of the share prices for 500 of the largest listed companies \u2013\u00a0 also had its annual rebalance for 2024 with more than 90 changes.<\/p>\n A host of stocks across various sectors including tech, biotech and resources join the ranks of the All Ords in the latest rebalance while it seems just as many are dropping out.<\/p>\n You can see the full list here.<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Global medtech company 4D Medical (ASX:4DX)<\/a><\/strong> which is focused on the commercialisation of its flagship respiratory imaging platform XV Technology has been elevated to the S&P\/ASX All Tech Index.<\/p>\n 4DX recently announced<\/a> it will again collaborate with Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), this time as part of a grant awarded by the US Department of Veterans Affairs.<\/p>\n The company says the Military Exposures Research Program (MERP) seeks to advance military exposure assessments and to understand the effects of military exposures on Veterans\u2019 health outcomes to inform care and policy.<\/p>\n Worth reading MoneyTalks: Two ASX medical imaging stocks are put under microscope \u2013 both have big price targets<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Source: S&P Global<\/p>\n And that completes a mighty rebalance and reorder of the ASX in March 2024.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post ASX Rebalance: Tech in, lithium out of S&P\/ASX 200 as uranium stocks enter S&P\/ASX 300<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nS&P\/ASX 50
\nS&P\/ASX 100
\nS&P\/ASX 200
\nS&P\/ASX 300
\nS&P\/ASX All Odinaries
\nS&P\/ASX All Technologies Index<\/p>\nQBE Insurance in, Newmont out of S&P\/ASX 20<\/h2>\n
Flight centre and Pro Medicus make S&P\/ASX 100<\/h2>\n
Tech in, lithium out of S&P ASX 200<\/h2>\n
Uranium stocks enter the S&P\/ASX300<\/h2>\n
Big changes to the All ordinaries index<\/h2>\n
S&P\/ASX All Tech Index<\/h2>\n