The Australian sharemarket capped off its best August since 2009 on Monday, with local shares climbing 2.2 per cent through company reporting season.

Afterpay shares shot 33.4 per cent higher to $91.44 in August, clearing Coles and Amcor to become the 17th-largest company on the local exchange after acquiring Spanish payments company Pagantis and doubling its revenue in financial year 2020.
Wesfarmers’ retailers benefited from a spending rush during the COVID-19 lockdown period, helping the company report a better-than-expected full-year profit and a surprise 18¢-a-share special dividend. Its shares closed the month 2.5 per cent higher at $47.52.
Goodman Group shares advanced 8.2 per cent to $18.31 after beating full-year earnings guidance for the ninth straight year, benefiting from rising warehouse space demand because of e-commerce growth in the pandemic.
Better-than-expected results for some of the market’s most sold-off stocks led them to firm rallies through the month. IDP Education climbed 50.9 per cent to $20.07, Corporate Travel Management firmed 11.3 per cent to $15.99, oOh!Media advanced 37.3 per cent to $1.03, Flight Centre rose 24,9 per cent to $13.23, and Webjet added 31.4 per cent to $3.72.
Reliance Worldwide climbed 42.5 per cent to $3.82 after buoyant results in its US business offset weakness in Europe.
WiseTech Global shares soared 36.5 per cent to $28.18 through August after it reported 23 per cent full-year revenue growth while its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came in at the upper end of guidance.
Fortescue Metals Group climbed 0.1 per cent to $17.42 in August after it paid out a bigger-than-expected dividend of $1 a share after reporting record profit for the year ended June 30 after stronger iron ore prices and production. It traded ex-dividend on Monday, dragging it down 7.7 per cent.
Commonwealth Bank led the losses for the month, sliding 4.1 per cent to $68.28, despite paying a stronger-than-expected dividend as it reported an 11.3 per cent fall in profit because of increased provisions against loan losses.
Telstra shares dropped 12.9 per cent to $2.89 after the telco warned its annual 16¢-a-share dividend could be under threat if it cannot overcome a painful squeeze on its earnings from the permanent loss of customers to the NBN, reporting 14.4 per cent slid in profit in fiscal 2020.
Newcrest declined 9.2 per cent to $31.96 despite posting its biggest profit in eight years as it warned investors to expect lower gold production for the year ahead.
A2 Milk shares fell 11.8 per cent to $17.01 with brokers warning the earnings outlook for the company appeared fragile, after it reported a net profit increase of 34 per cent to $NZ385.8 million ($350 million).
Treasury Wine Estates dropped 14.4 per cent to $9.25 after China’s Ministry of Commerce said two weeks ago that it would begin investigating allegations the Australian wine industry was receiving subsidies and selling into the mainland market below cost.
Whitehaven Coal shares tumbled 32.9 per cent to 93¢ after slumping coal prices drove a 95 per cent collapse in the miner’s full-year profits, with the company barely breaking even in the second half, with the majority of its profits obtained in the first six months of the fiscal year.