Another deluge of largely well-received company updates, plus another bump in travel stocks equated to a decent trading session. Some short squeezing likely helped Webjet and Flight Centre achieve its 7-8% top of the ladder outperformance. Macquarie (4%) and Suncorp (6%) also landed in the hotly contested top 10, while Magellan found some dip-buyers and closed up over 7%. The financials overall added 1.6% to the bottom line ahead of CBA’s drop tomorrow. Miners topped the index ladder, adding 2.3...
Feb 08, 2022•12 min•Season 3Ep. 23
Company news dropped like hailstones well before the open. Graincorp was the only game in town until the Prime Minister threw open the borders to vaccinated travellers and travel stocks clamoured higher in the last hour of trade. Graincorp closed up nearly 13% thanks to a strong harvest and freight management, followed by travel besties Flight Centre and Corporate Travel adding 7-8% Elders added 5% on agricultural contagion while Iluka popped on its win against its shareholder class action. Whil...
Feb 07, 2022•12 min•Season 3Ep. 23
It was a wild day on top of a wild week, where midday losses quietly turned into a green close. As oil surged through $90bbl this week the energy sector was today’s sector leader, adding 0.7%. Aussie tech found some love after a tough US-led week, ZIP managing to add 3%. Today’s top performers were strange bedfellows News Corp, Qantas and Liontown. News Corp at least beat the street to earn its 6% pop. REA flagged a record dividend but early gains were wiped out by the close. ARB was sitting at ...
Feb 04, 2022•9 min•Season 3Ep. 22
The local bourse opened in the wake of the after-market 20+% tumbles in Paypal and Meta, and so local tech found itself under the bus. ZIP closed down over 9%, WiseTech shedding nearly 8%, but Block, the poster child of anti-tech sentiment, shed close to 10%. Novonix at the bottom of the ladder lost 14%. The sole supernova today was Nufarm, closing up 20% as revenues surge ahead of rising costs. Amazon and Ford are among the US companies reporting tonight, while the Bank of England is widely tip...
Feb 03, 2022•13 min•Season 3Ep. 22
The local market opened higher and stayed there, and while most sectors were in the green nothing really shot the lights out. Energy and materials led the way higher; a broker upgrade was behind Champion Iron’s near-6% pop. At the other end, yesterday’s upbeat Credit Corp report was sold into, closing down 6%. While after a good run, profit-taking saw Block slice 6% off the share price. PayPal’s disappointing report weighed on the BNPL space. As we await more central bank action tomorrow night a...
Feb 02, 2022•11 min•Season 3Ep. 21
Early market trade was all about tech (again) with Block and Appen dominating the top of the ladder for the duration of the session, following the Nasdaq's lead and posting gains for the third session in a row. Overall, the sector added just over 1%. Credit Corp closed up 2.7% after exceeding profit expectations in its half year update, while Boral returning a whopping $3 billion to shareholders saw it close up over 5%. BHP and Rio Tinto were at the bottom of the ladder, while all other sectors ...
Feb 01, 2022•12 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Glancing at the open and close, it looked like a nothing trading day in aggregate. Lurking under the hood was the rebound of Aussie tech, looking at you BNPL. After zero love in recent weeks tech followed the Nasdaq higher, with SQ2 (Block) surging to top the ASX200 ladder for most of the session before ARB pushed in to close 8% higher. Z1P not far behind, closing over 7% higher. Blue chips were the underperformers with banks, consumer staples and miners all a sea of red. Macro event risk is hea...
Jan 31, 2022•11 min•Season 3Ep. 19
The local sharemarket ended the shortened and volatile trading week on a strong note, more than erasing yesterday's steep losses. The S&P/ASX200 ended up close to 2.2% higher, but failed to make it back above the 7000 level. The blue-chips led the market higher with all sectors finishing in the green, led by consumer discretionary and staples. Wesfarmers, Coles and Macquarie Group among the leaders, while the goldminers again suffered with Newcrest falling more than 6%, disappointing the mar...
Jan 28, 2022•10 min•Season 3Ep. 18
Tennis anyone? Markets are like watching a tennis match - US stocks again pivoted in the last hour of trade, while our market popped higher at the open only to sink into a technical correction. Tech stocks bore the brunt of an aggressive US Fed overnight, down over 5% and taking year to date losses to near 20%. Aussie goldies were also caught in the crossfire. Financials opened in the green, then closed over 1% lower (a broker upgrade saved ANZ). Resources were up 2-3% before even green energy d...
Jan 27, 2022•10 min•Season 3Ep. 17
No sugarcoating today; it was blood in the streets, falling knives hitting the pavement, baby out with the bathwater, choose your poison. The S&P/ASX200 posted its most significant two-day per cent decline since June 2020. Plenty of corporate news dropped early, but even good news was swamped in the negative sentiment. The sell-off gathered momentum after the shock inflation print, with core inflatoin at an eight-year high of 2.7% and rate hikes brought forward by even the dovish of doves. T...
Jan 25, 2022•10 min
Company updates were behind the extreme moves in the ASX today. Bottom of the ladder was Regis Resources, closing down over 14% thanks to lower production guidance. Top of the pops was Uniti, adding 9% as the bidders line up, while Goodman Group added 4%. Fortescue’s latest acquisition didn’t save the share price, closing down nearly 2% ahead of tomorrow’s quarterly update. BHP’s positives of iron ore approaching $140/t and a larger share of the index didn’t save it either, closing down 1.3%. So...
Jan 24, 2022•9 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Like a car crash, it was hard to look away from today’s stock market devastation. Friday afternoon dip buyers were MIA; why catch these falling knives? After a good run, investors deserted the materials and energy sectors, down 3.7% and 3.1%, respectively. Aussie tech woes continue, down another 1.9% for the fourth weekly drop, now the lowest since May 2020. By the close, Boral, Xero and a few goldies managed to stay in the green, but the ASX200 shed nearly 167 points or -2.3%. The market is 3% ...
Jan 21, 2022•12 min•Season 3Ep. 14
It was a golden turnaround for the local market today, with the S&P/ASX200 ending in positive territory +0.14%. Gold miners took up five of the top five spots, led by Northern Star, Evolution Mining and Silver Lake Resources. Commodities were hot in general, with iron ore back over $130/t and the majors benefiting as a result. Quarterly reports revealed record revenues for Santos and Woodside, and record inflows for Netwealth. Aussie tech was slammed and ending 1% lower, while the Block (SQ2...
Jan 20, 2022•12 min•Season 3Ep. 13
It was a weak lead overnight as US treasury yields hit 2-year highs and pressured big tech - even the high quality names - but in reality all the broader indices retreated. Aussie tech again bore the brunt closing down nearly 2%, with Megaport losing an aggressive 16%, WiseTech down nearly 4%. Healthcare and Financial sectors closing down 1.9% and 1.5% respectively. Today’s price action on the whole was forgettable, the ASX200 closing down 76 points or -1%. Tonight, look out for Bank of America,...
Jan 19, 2022•12 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Top of the pops was JB Hi-Fi with early metrics outpacing analyst estimates, the share price closing up 7%. The update from Data#3 was a beat compared with October guidance, and it closed up over 13%. At the other end a big miss in Redbubble’s update, the share price slashed by over 20%. As the EV wave consumes 2022, Liontown added 6% ( Henry Jenning's buy today, ) a beacon for the in-demand lithium sector. Cancer drug company Imugene gained 7% on a broker upgrade. The slump in weekly ANZ consum...
Jan 18, 2022•14 min•Season 3Ep. 11
That was a decent session to start the trading week with the ASX ending +0.3%, at 7,417. Better than expected Chinese GDP data and a surprise PBOC rate cut helped improve sentiment through the afternoon, though it still feels very much like a market in 'holiday mode.' On that, US markets are closed for Martin Luther King Jr Day ahead of quarterly earnings this week. BeforePay's share price crashed and burned today; spare a thought for investors sitting on a 42% loss on day one of trade. In bette...
Jan 17, 2022•13 min
A weak lead overnight squashed any glimmers of green on the screen today. Textbook growth stocks were belted, and with the Nasdaq closing 2.5% lower the usual pavlovian response is to smash the Aussie BNPL space. Afterpay copped it on the chin, losing another 9%. Tech closed down -1.6% in the end. After a decent week, commodities were meh, as was the materials sector. A standout was AGL, getting a decent tailwind from record gas prices. Financials also reversed yesterday’s rally, closing 1% lowe...
Jan 14, 2022•16 min•Season 3Ep. 9
While US markets embraced 40-year highs in inflation, SPI futures were flat. But not to worry Aussie blue chip stocks were hoovered up, aka banks and miners. The big four banks opened higher and stayed there, but didn’t exactly shoot the lights out and closed up 0.4%. Iron ore prices reached $130/t, boosting BHP and Rio into today’s top 10. In fact, it was a commodities-heavy upbeat session for lithium and nickel stocks as well, with Pilbara Minerals, Liontown Resources and Nickel Mines - closin...
Jan 13, 2022•11 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Overnight markets shrugged off Chair Powell confirming that rate hikes were coming sooner rather than later, and following SPI futures the ASX added around 1% in early trade. However, conviction wasn’t high and momentum faded. A softer USD boosted commodities across the board and the miners had a solid session. While BHP and Rio added 1%, Fortescue went the other way as a broker questioned the market’s enthusiasm for FFI and downgraded FMG to a sell. Energy topped the ladder, the complex 3% high...
Jan 12, 2022•9 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Another soggy lead from the US spurred cautious local trading, although with the Nasdaq clawing back losses our tech sector experienced selective buy the dip action. Financials had an awful day - closing down over 1% - despite the fact that banks tend to benefit from rising interest rates. As Omicron nerves exacerbated scatty trading and constrained liquidity, the ASX200 closed down 57 points or 0.8%. Our top three VODs are: The battle between growth and value ignores the most important quality:...
Jan 11, 2022•12 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Our local bourse was down 0.4% by mid-morning and was a sea of red except for materials. While most losses were erased by the close after the sour Nasdaq lead, Aussie tech remained near the bottom of the ladder. Xero was pounded again, closing nearly 3% lower, while BNPL overall is still struggling in the face of higher bond yields, Afterpay -2.4%, again. Our top three VODs are: Investors beware; full employment, wages growth and inflation a potent cocktail Beijing's blue skies to create blue sk...
Jan 10, 2022•9 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Our local market obeyed SPI futures and opened strongly, with banks and property leading a 1.6% pop by midday. Broad-based gains were maintained throughout the day, despite tonight’s marquee data event - US non-farm payrolls. Corporate news dropped early, with Woolworths announcing that it was pulling out of the Australian Pharma bid and James Hardie dropping its CEO over persistent behavioural issues. API closed down over 12% while JHX closed down 4%. Oil prices have been rising all week, and t...
Jan 07, 2022•9 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Another Fed-led jump in bond yields overnight and this time the stock market fallout wasn’t just confined to tech. Our market opened weaker in line with SPI futures, and rather than an afternoon rally, investors sold - almost - everything by the close. Tech was smashed again, trading 2% lower by midday and supporters disappeared in the afternoon, leaving the sector 4% smaller. Corporate news was thin, although Latitude bidding for Humm’s BNPL space caught the market’s eye. Other winners were har...
Jan 06, 2022•11 min•Season 3Ep. 3
We walked into the Dow Jones setting new highs, but in contrast there was a spooked Nasdaq, the latter due to a decent two-day climb in US bond yields. Our tech sector was a key underperformer, closing down 1.8%. Healthcare also weighed on the broader index, at the bottom of the ladder and closing down 1.9%. Oil jumped overnight after OPEC+ ministers agreed to their existing plan - go figure - and the Aussie energy complex topped the ladder, adding 0.8%. Upbeat PMIs from China and chatter of Eve...
Jan 05, 2022•11 min•Season 3Ep. 2
We're picking up where we left off - in amongst record highs. Today's performance for the ASX was the best for a first calendar day in decades. Every sector finished in the green with energy stocks (coal and crude) doing particularly well. Ironically, today's "golden girls" were lithium plays. Novonix (NVX) finished up more than 13 percent - a knock on effect after its commercial partner smashed its Q4 deliveries targets in spite of supply chain issues. Pilbara, Lynas and Allkem (the artist form...
Jan 04, 2022•13 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Overnight markets surged again, SPI was up 32 points, and after a brief morning lull, local investors concluded that a Santa rally of sorts was overdue. Most commodities firmed overnight - with the notable exception of iron ore - with miners initially dominating the top 5 on the ASX200 ladder. Corporate news is still coming thick and fast: trading in Syrah Resources was paused after a 22% surge sparked by an announcement of a natural graphite offtake agreement with Tesla. At the other end, a 10%...
Dec 23, 2021•7 min•Season 2Ep. 226
Upbeat overnight markets concluded that Omicron was mild, and SPI futures pointed to a decent open, but local investors did not really catch the vibe. Oil was firm overnight, and the Energy complex responded in kind, and closed up 0.7%. Despite being 22 December, we’re not finished with M&A news: Link up 15% on a Canadian bid; Charter Hall buying a 50% stake in Paradice was big news but investors not happy with a near-8% dip. Lithium was on the nose yesterday, but BTD for investors saw Pilba...
Dec 22, 2021•12 min•Season 2Ep. 226
A rebound in still-negative US markets sparked a cautiously positive tone in the local market. Then some idle cash was put to work over the afternoon, the market closing higher, and most sectors joined in. Today's leaders were a mixed bag: Sandfire popped on a broker declaring it a buy; Paladin in the ASX200 saw it close over 5% higher; Nanosonics continued its choppy vibe, closing up nearly 8%. At the other end, Pilbara Minerals smashed by 9% on a negative trading update. Afterpay may have clos...
Dec 21, 2021•8 min•Season 2Ep. 225
Triple-witching options expiry in the US markets made for a poor handover today. Then in a short statement, Magellan told the market it was losing its biggest backer, sending the share price down 30% from the open. Magellan’s 30% slump dwarfed all other negatives. Financials more broadly had a poor session, closing down 1.2%, but the Energy complex was at the bottom of the ladder, down 3.2%. ASX200 leaders were thin on the ground, although BlueScope popped 4% higher on a broker upgrade to buy, a...
Dec 20, 2021•9 min•Season 2Ep. 224
Flat SPI futures were no help but the local market opened higher, with investors deciding that blue chips, energy and gold stocks were on the Christmas menu. The Nasdaq collapsed as US regulators eyed the BNPL space, and while the Aussie names opened lower, eventually all tech was on the nose, the sector closing down 1.4%. Afterpay and Z1P closed down over 7% and 6% respectively. At the other end of the spectrum, energy topped the ASX200 sector list, adding 1.3% as oil popped overnight, with all...
Dec 17, 2021•7 min•Season 2Ep. 223
