The S&P/ASX200 closed up Wednesday, gaining 23 points or 0.3% to 7,297, but not before first setting a new 50-day low as Wall Street weighed and Evergrande lingered. Those fears proved fleeting. The energy names led, materials not far off and the real estate sector did some fine afternoon trade. The big four banks did not. And neither did the insurance groups because, y'know, earthquake. IAG, (IAG) down 3%, NHF (NHF) down 1.9% and Suncorp (SUN) down 2.1%. Our top three VODs: Four key themes ...
Sep 22, 2021•11 min•Season 2Ep. 170
The S&P/ASX200 closed higher Tuesday, gaining 26 points or 0.4% to 7,274 after crashing early to a new 50-day low. The miners led the rebound, but yielded late in the day to the energy, consumer discretionary and IT sectors which all rose in afternoon business. Concerns around a US debt default and potential fallout from the ruination of Chinese property giant Evergrande were magnified by the vacuum of a Chinese market holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng, smacked 3.5%. At home, Ausnet (AST) likin...
Sep 21, 2021•13 min
The S&P/ASX200 closed sharply lower Monday, dropping 156 points or 2.1% to 7,248, setting a new 20-day low. Iron ore, and I think the word here is rout - the rout continues - Champion Iron (CIA) down 12.5%, making the three majors Fortescue (FMG), Rio Tinto (RIO) and BHP Group (BHP) all down between 4.5% and 3.5%, look positively healthy in comparison. But they're not great and the math is simple: China's Evergrande's property pickle has compounded the state's broader curbs on industrial act...
Sep 20, 2021•9 min•Season 2Ep. 168
The S&P/ASX200 closed lower Friday, dropping 57 points or 0.8% to 7,404 and crossing below its 50-day moving average. The markets woke up to the new iron ore reality it seems, global spot prices falling again, but only a continuation of the slide that began in earnest from July. China's long flagged cuts to steel output, but the decline of debt-riddled property giant Evergrande and the implications for the steel hungry property market triggered a burst of calculator activity among some of th...
Sep 17, 2021•15 min•Season 2Ep. 165
The market went for a nice run today, finishing up 0.58% at the close of trade. Almost every single sector finished in the green, with the energy MVP. Austal was up 2.67% as "that fella down under" (the PM) went nuclear, signing a new military partnership with peers Boris Johnson and Joe Biden. At the other end of the scale, traders took profits in Pilbara Minerals and Orocobre. Fortescue and Rio were deep in the red with iron ore slumping to a new low for the year. Meanwhile, the Australian 10y...
Sep 16, 2021•9 min•Season 2Ep. 164
The S&P/ASX200 closed lower Wednesday, dropping 20 points or 0.3% to 7,417. Weak overnight leads and flat oil prices played out across the banking and energy sectors and materials were weighed down heavily by the big iron ore miners on falling futures in Dalian (where I used to live). And on China, August economic activity came in weaker than expected, key suppliers BHP Group (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) ending the session 3.5% and 1.9% lower. Shares in AGL Energy (AGL) struck a record low, dow...
Sep 15, 2021•15 min
The S&P/ASX200 closed up Tuesday, gaining 12 points or 0.2% to 7,437 after tailwinds drove the market higher on light trading volumes. Wall Street ended mixed, the NASDAQ lower. Oil hit six-week highs and iron ore ten-month lows. That scenario largely played here in the morning session as tech stocks tanked, and the energy names collected. RBA Governor Phillip Lowe spoke at lunchtime, on "Delta, the Economy and Monetary Policy", but really about how rates won't rise until 2024. From there th...
Sep 14, 2021•17 min
The S&P/ASX200 closed up Monday, gaining 19 points or 0.25% to 7,425. Materials did well, particularly the new energy miners. A fine session for Pilbara Minerals (PLS) up 7.3% and Lynas (LYC) gaining 5.4%. Yet, play of the day goes to takeover target Sydney Airport (SYD), 4.6% stronger after inviting the IFM-led consortium into its books after liking the look of a third offer, now worth $8.75 a share, implying a $32 billion plus valuation, including debt. Elsewhere, Omni Bridgeway (OBL) givi...
Sep 13, 2021•14 min•Season 2Ep. 162
The S&P/ASX200 closed up Friday, gaining 37 points or 0.5% to 7,407. Let's wrap this one up: coal rose, iron ore and oil fell. Materials and energy led gains. The banks were a pass. Not Macquarie (MQG), 0.6% lower. Santos (STO), Oil Search (OSH) got their $21 billion merge on. Stock of the day was a rebounding Nickel Mines (NIC) up 8.3%. Polynovo (PNV) went ex-COO, losing 5.5%. Listing today at 20¢, delivery software firm Zoom2u (Z2U) ended at 41.5¢. Have a good weekend. Our top three VODs: ...
Sep 10, 2021•13 min
The S&P/ASX200 closed sharply lower Thursday, dropping 143 points or 1.9% to 7,370, as fears of a global pullback coalesced into some broad-based selling here at home. Almost $50 billion of value was wiped off the local index in it's worst session in months. Every sector lower, the materials, banks and consumer stocks among the hardest hit. Of the laggards, Virgin Money UK (VUK) down 8.4% took the cake, while on the flip side, Resmed (RMD) gaining an unlikely 1.9%. Our top three VODs: Kyle M...
Sep 09, 2021•13 min
The S&P/ASX200 closed lower Wednesday, dropping 18 points or 0.2% to 7,512. Following a Labour day holiday rich with economic uncertainty, Wall Street closed mixed on timid trade, a mood that infected US exposed stocks here at home. Not the rest of Asia. All the major indices rose steadily, led by the Shanghai Composite up 1.5% while over in Singapore iron ore futures fell more than 4% as China looks to cut crude steel volumes. That hurt companies that like to dig stuff up - the goldies lead...
Sep 08, 2021•15 min•Season 2Ep. 161
The S&P/ASX200 ended a few points higher on Tuesday, but it's been many moons since I've seen two points as weak and meaningless and deflating as these ones. The fact is this is an index that recovered to be flat. Some will pin it on the RBA and its 'QE Mullet' (trimmed at the front, extensions at the back) and that's just fine. Also, going ex-dividend is an excellent expression. I myself have gone ex-div several times already today. Following suit on Tuesday were cool sounding companies lik...
Sep 07, 2021•13 min•Season 2Ep. 160
The S&P/ASX200 somehow closed up around five points on Monday ending a very unexpected day of trade. The undeniable pluck shown by the little index that could, came in the face of surging COVID-19 numbers, US non-farm payroll weakness and an ex-div Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), crashing 11.2%, taking the materials sector and the broader index with it. Pro Medicus (PME) sold off about 6%, while Lendlease (LLC) slumped 4.3% after a downgrade over at Morgan Stanley. But it was a stock you’ve ne...
Sep 06, 2021•13 min•Season 2Ep. 159
The S&P/ASX200 closed up Friday, gaining 37 points or 0.5% to 7,523, on light volumes as traders await the headline US non-farm payroll numbers tonight. The coal/lithium train did leave the station this morning at the open, Orocobre (ORE) and Whitehaven Coal arriving at 7.6% and 6.4% by the close. Not much on the debit sheet, Afterpay (APT) and Bluescope (BSL) down 2.9% and 2.7%. Yes, it was a good week on the index, especially for September which is usually crappy, the only month in fact of...
Sep 03, 2021•11 min•Season 2Ep. 158
The S&P/ASX200 closed lower Thursday, dropping 41 points or 0.55% to 7,486. Wall Street closed mixed overnight, with some of the big names in Aussie business going ex-dividend here at home. BHP closing 6.9% the worse for wear, United Malt Group (UMG) giving away 6.1% on weaker guidance. The uncanny adventures of Altium (ALU) - dissed by Macquarie, loved by Citi - climbing 4.8%, while Clinuvel (CUV) finding more admirers, the medtech gaining 4.6%. Tomorrow is Friday, or as we say in China, 星期...
Sep 02, 2021•11 min•Season 2Ep. 158
The S&P/ASX200 closed lower Wednesday, dropping eight points or 0.1% to 7,527, some perky GDP numbers lifting the index from a first of September morning funk. Energy led the sectors, up 1.2%, the big banks came back in late trade but the major miners did not. Lots of companies going ex-dividend, lots of healthcare names disappointing. Beaten but not broken, Nuix (NXL), closing up 5.5% and topping the charts. In the naughty corner with a funny hat, Mesoblast (MSB) down heavily for the second...
Sep 01, 2021•13 min•Season 2Ep. 157
The S&P/ASX200 closed up Tuesday, gaining 30 points or 0.4% to 7,535, the energy names rising on Hurricane Ida shutdowns, while tech and Industrial stocks drove the Tuesday gains. It was the best of times for the health sector: Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals (CUV) up 10% and the worst of times, Mesoblast (MSB) down 15%, the latter on an actionless and underwhelming full year. And in the perfect snippet of the earnings season that just was: profits jumped around 75% at Harvey Norman, driving a fina...
Aug 31, 2021•12 min•Season 2Ep. 156
The S&P/ASX closed higher, Monday, gaining 22 points or 0.2% to 7,505. The materials sector carried a choppy index over the line, Fortescue Metals' (FMG) up 6.7%, more than doubling last years' profit. And that monstrous final dividen... we'll have to start calling Twiggy, Branchy, very soon. Other winners outside the materials sector, Invocare (IVC) and Polynovo (PNV) - both up around 8%. In the naughty corner, Altium (ALU) crashing 14%. Then there's Nuix, dropping a further 10.3%... possib...
Aug 30, 2021•14 min
The S&P/ASX200 closed down just three points Friday to 7,488, the local index clawing back some ground on light trade, ahead of Annette's 3am date with Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the virtual Jackson Hole central bankers hoedown tonight. The bottom performing stocks today were Pilbara Minerals (PLS) and Appen Ltd (APX) down 6.8% and 6.6% respectively. Dr Philippe Wolgen's Clinuvel (CUV) climbing 18.3% after yesterday's full year and, significantly, his subsequent chat with Annette. We've inte...
Aug 27, 2021•10 min•Season 2Ep. 155
The S&P/ASX200 closed lower Thursday, dropping 41 points or 0.5% to 7,491, ending a hat-trick of gains and crossing back below its 20-day moving average. Another massive day of reports, but among them all, consider this - Qantas posted a $2.4 billion loss for the 2021 financial year... yet still a beat on last year's $2.7 billion catastrophe. Kyle Mcintyre from Firetrail unpacks that one below . Appen (APX) and Link (LNK) came unstrung today, down 20.4% and 12.6% respectively. Special mentio...
Aug 26, 2021•11 min•Season 2Ep. 155
The S&P/ASX200 closed up 29 points or 0.4% on Wednesday hitting 7,532 and crossing above its 20-day moving average and is only 1.3% off of another record high. Stateside, the S&P 500 notched its own half-century of record closes in 2021 and the Nasdaq topped 15,000 for the first time. Here at home the materials and IT sectors following suit. Wednesday's top performers, WiseTech Global (WTC) and Appen (APX), up 28% and 9% respectively - the former copping a speeding ticket before lunchtim...
Aug 25, 2021•12 min•Season 2Ep. 154
The S&P/ASX200 closed up Tuesday, gaining 13 points or 0.17% to 7,503, as energy and materials made a solid comeback, oil and commodity prices kicking higher overnight. But the top performing stocks were earnings related. Nanosonics (NAN) up 21.2% and way back in second, Uniti Group (UWL) 8.9% respectively. At the other end of town, Kogan.com (KGN), down 15.7%, just had one of those days... the online retailer's fan base fleeing after a big profit miss led to a nixed dividend. Our top three ...
Aug 24, 2021•12 min•Season 2Ep. 153
The S&P/ASX200 closed up Monday, climbing 29 points or 0.4% to 7,490, and while the local market has lost 1.2% over last week's run of outs, it still sits just 1.9% below its record high. Global equities rebounded, commodities steadied, although Fortescue (FMG) took a 4.3% hit, Twiggy's lower grade ore a likely candidate for the fall. Pilbara Resources (PLS) up 11% and Nearmap (NEA) up 7.1%, among the standout performers. Tomorrow we have a bunch more CEOs explaining themselves and the thing...
Aug 23, 2021•17 min•Season 2Ep. 153
The S&P/ASX200 closed down almost four points Friday to 7,461. That's five in a row on the dark side during a week of some pretty impressive earnings data. The bottom performing company today was Cochlear, down 7.2%, which also doesn't sit entirely right either. But, on the plus side, iron ore futures are finally stemming the losses, even rising late on Friday in Dalian after the key commodity got smacked again last night. The materials sector still heavily lower, the goldies and new metal m...
Aug 20, 2021•14 min•Season 2Ep. 153
The S&P/ASX200 closed lower Thursday, dropping 38 points or 0.5% to 7,465, crossing below its 20-day moving average and the first run of four consecutive losses for this index since last year. The bottom performing stocks were Codan (CDA) and - again - Sims Ltd (SGM), down 8% and 7.3%, while a resurgent Redbubble (RBL) topped the charts with an 18.9% leap on solid full year results. Materials. Whacked as iron futures slumped. Fortescue (FMG), Rio Tinto (RIO) and BHP all down between 5.7% and...
Aug 19, 2021•12 min•Season 2Ep. 152
The S&P/ASX200 closed lower Wednesday, dropping nine points or 0.1% to 7,502. The worst of a bad bunch - BHP and Sims Metals - down 7% and 5.8% respectively. Although it should be said there were some ordinary share performances from not entirely awful reports, like CSL, (-1.7%), Fletcher Buildings (-2.4%) and Bapcor (-4.4%). On the flip side, Domain Holdings (+6.3%), Domino Pizza's (+7%) and Pro Medicus (+15.8%) all higher and all of their chief executive interviews are steamingly fresh and...
Aug 18, 2021•12 min•Season 2Ep. 152
The S&P/ASX200 closed lower Tuesday, dropping 71.5 points or 0.94% to 7,511. The single worst session of trading in two months. After trade, BHP has delivered shareholders a monstrous final dividend of $US2 per share, taking the annual payout to a record $US3.01. Woodside agreeing to a BHP mega-merger, creating a global top 10 energy giant. BHP's CFO David Lamont will join us tomorrow. But meanwhile delta fears, a stuttering Chinese economy and underwhelming results helped accelerate the ret...
Aug 17, 2021•13 min•Season 2Ep. 151
The S&P/ASX200 closed sharply lower Monday, dropping 46.4 points or 0.6% to 7,582. A four day winning streak for the local market came to an abrupt end today, with companies reporting driving the gains & losses (BPT, BEN, LLC, CAR, GPT) and of course there's always a hint of M&A (A2M, SYD, BHP WPL) adding to the spice. The local market's biggest losses in almost two weeks came after the index earlier rose 0.5% to a record high of 7628.9. Our top three VODS: Is there still value in Bl...
Aug 16, 2021•14 min•Season 2Ep. 151
Another day, another record high. That’s eight on the trot.. Let the good times roll! The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.54%, extending its gain over the week to 1.2%. Year-to-date, the benchmark has climbed 15.9%. All sectors except materials rose during the session, led defensive areas such as utilities, healthcare and consumer staples with gains of between 0.8% to 2%. Consumer discretionary also saw strong demand, jumping 1.2%. Not every retailer had a good day, though. Just ask Baby Bunting share...
Aug 13, 2021•15 min•Season 2Ep. 150
The market closed at another record high. That makes it seven days in a row. Relentless. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.05%, helped by a late flurry of buying. The Chi-X 200 eased 0.07%. It was telecommunications’ turn to lead the push higher, driven by a 3.4% surge in Telstra shares following its full year results. The broader sector added 2.3%. Consumer staples, consumer discretionary, energy and industrials also added more than 0.5%, helping to offset weakness in tech, utilities and healthcare. L...
Aug 12, 2021•10 min•Season 2Ep. 140
