Australian Shares Rise on Record Labor Data; Star Entertainment Gets Approval for Revised Remediation Plan for Two Casinos

MT Newswires Live10-17

Australian shares rose on Thursday as the market cheered the latest labor data showing record domestic participation rate and employee-to-population ratio.

The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9% or 71.20 points to close at 8,355.90.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said that Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate came in at 4.1% in September, unchanged from the revised figure in August. The consensus estimate was 4.2%, according to Trading Economics.

The participation rate inched higher to 67.2% from 67.1% to reach a record high. The employment-to-population ratio increased 0.1% to a little over 64%, also a new historical high, the report said.

"The record employment-to-population ratio and participation rate shows that there are still large numbers of people entering the labor force and finding work in a range of industries, as job vacancies continue to remain above pre-pandemic levels," said Bjorn Jarvis, the bureau's head of labor statistics.

In corporate news, Santos' (ASX:STO) sales revenue fell to AU$1.27 billion in the third quarter compared with $1.44 billion in the same quarter a year ago, while total sales volume fell to 21.7 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) from 24 million boe year on year.

Meanwhile, BHP Group (ASX:BHP) posted a 4% rise in copper production and a 2% rise in iron ore output for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with the prior corresponding period, while steelmaking coal production fell 19%, energy coal rose 2%, and nickel fell 3%. The company's shares closed down by more than 1%.

Lastly, Star Entertainment Group (ASX:SGR) said its revised remediation plan for The Star Gold Coast and The Star Brisbane casinos has been approved and that it will remain in talks with authorities in relation to The Star Sydney's prolonged suspension. The New South Wales Independent Casino Commission asked the ASX-listed gaming company to pay AU$15 million in fines due to several breaches while the license of its Sydney casino will remain suspended. Its shares rallied 14% at market close after a voluntary trading halt earlier in the day.

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