ASX closed lower; PayGroup surged on Q2 results; BHP delivered Q1 results in-line with guidance

The Australian market overturned morning gains to close 0.08% lower at 7374.90 on Tuesday weighed down by heavy losses for the metals and mining stocks.

The tech rally extended into afternoon trade with the sector finishing the day 1.59% higher led by Appen surging 4.59%, Megaport adding 3.02% and Nearmap closing the session 2.94% higher.

Bitcoin is trading relatively flat this afternoon, down just 0.04% at US$62,30.13 at 5pm AEDT.

PayGroup surged today after the leading provider of payroll and human capital management solutions released its second quarter results. For the three months ended September 30, PayGroup reported a record $5m in new contracts including contracts with Dexus and Hudson RPO, and a record 7.5m annualised payslips and transactions processed. PayGroup also upgraded its guidance to at least $37m for the year ending March 2022, following strong organic growth in the first half of FY22.

Making headlines, mining giant BHP released first quarter results today with performance in-line with full-year guidance. BHP?s Iron Ore production came in at 63.3Mt for the quarter, down 3% from the previous quarter which was expected due to planned major maintenance and labour shortages from COVID related border restrictions. The mining giants? Petroleum production was a highlight of the quarter, increasing 2% QoQ and 3% YoY to 27.5MMboe.

And adults can now live a childhood dream with Fisher-Price launching a working Chatter telephone for adults as part of the company?s 60th anniversary celebrations.