An early rally fizzled as quickly as it began, undermined by steep falls in commodity prices that heaped pressure on the miners. The materials sector was slammed, tumbling 4.6% with the likes of BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue siding between 4.9% to 8.3%. Energy was hit even harder, sliding 5.2% on the back of recession fears. Utilities and staples also dragged, finishing with losses of 1.9% and 0.7% respectively. Helping to limit the damage, longer duration names generally fared well. The REITs se...
Jun 20, 2022•13 min•Season 3Ep. 100
Snap, crackle and pop. A brutal end to a brutal week. The era of ASX outperformance seems to be well and truly over for now. Except for goldies and staples, it was another sea of red, led by materials, tech, energy, consumer discretionary and financials which fell between 1.4% and 2.8%. Industrials, utilities and REITs were the relative standouts, if you can call it that, managing to limit falls to under 0.8%. It was that kind of day. Staples managed to eke out a modest gain, helped in part by a...
Jun 17, 2022•13 min•Season 3Ep. 99
Another disappointing performance, albeit unsurprising. It was a repeat of May with initial optimism following a supersized Fed rate hike evaporating rapidly. The investment environment has changed. Gone is buying the dips, replaced by selling the rips. There were plenty willing to partake today. At the individual level, Link tumbled 10.6% on renewed concerns surrounding its sale. At the other end of the spectrum, Eagers Automotive shares purred, gaining 5.1% after announcing a share buyback. Th...
Jun 16, 2022•11 min•Season 3Ep. 97
With Australia’s 10-year bond yield soaring above 4%, rate sensitive sectors such as tech, REITs and healthcare were hammered, falling more than 1.5% apiece. Retailers were pressured with consumer discretionary sliding 1.9%, coinciding with the release of two dire consumer confidence readings earlier in the session. Financials, materials and energy fell 0.8%, 1% and 2.4% respectively, the latter two finding no respite from the selling pressure despite the release slightly better-than-expected Ch...
Jun 15, 2022•14 min•Season 3Ep. 96
There’s not much left to say other than it was ugly. The largest percentage decline since May 2020, leaving the Australia’s blue chip index at the lowest level since January 2021. We’re now down 12.3% from the highs struck earlier this year. On a day when Australian benchmark 10-year bond yields jumped above 4% on speculation of faster and larger rate hikes, long duration sectors understandably struggled. Tech fell 4.5%, healthcare 2.6% while REITs fell 3.3%. Winners were few and far between. On...
Jun 14, 2022•14 min•Season 3Ep. 95
It was a very downbeat end to the worst week for Aussie equities in more than two years. A wide sweeping selloff saw the local index drop 1.25% to 6932 - finishing down 4.2%. The sectors unanimously closed in the red, with REITs, gold stocks and consumer discretionary leading the losses. Financials saw the most doom and gloom over the week as the big banks dragged the sector 9% lower. Winners were few and far between today, but Xero was the hero after gaining 4%. Healius, James Hardie and Pinnac...
Jun 10, 2022•13 min•Season 3Ep. 95
Banks were smashed for a third day, sending the financial sector tumbling to lows last seen in March 2021. Westpac fell 3.5% while Bendigo and Adelaide Bank skidded 3.2%. The losses in the other retail banks ranged from 1.9% to 2.1%. However, unlike Wednesday, there was no sign of rotation into other sectors with only energy finishing higher. Materials slid 2.2%, coinciding with reports of new restrictions being introduced to control covid outbreaks in Beijing. Elsewhere, REITs tumbled 1.6%, uti...
Jun 09, 2022•11 min•Season 3Ep. 94
It was a day characterised by M&A, C-Suite moves, profit warnings and an almighty rotation away from the banks. Financials were hammered, slumping 2.85%. Bendigo fell 6.9%, narrowly beating Westpac (-5.7%) as the biggest laggard for the session. Losses in other lenders ranged from 2% to 4.4%. Brutal. What happened to rate hikes boosting margins? Seems the only thing investors wanted to focus on was slower lending and recession risks. With investors fleeing banks, the cash had to go somewhere...
Jun 08, 2022•13 min•Season 3Ep. 91
The RBA delivered another shock to the market by hiking 50 basis points. Futures markets had been implying a 25-point hike with a slight chance of a move greater than that. Surveyed economists were mostly in the 25-point camp, with a few thinking 40 points. But it was another month and another surprise from the new, hawkish RBA. It pulled out a 50 pointer and now the cash rate is at 0.85%. Stocks were already on the back-foot leading into the decision. They were knocked lower following it. The A...
Jun 07, 2022•13 min•Season 3Ep. 90
Local stocks wallowed in negative territory to start the week, ignoring another bout of optimism relating to easing covid restrictions in China. Tech, communications, industrials and materials led the losses, falling 0.9% or more. The lack of reaction in the miners to gains in Chinese stocks and commodity futures suggests reopening optimism has now been entirely discounted by investors. Now it’s up to the data to meet those lofty expectations. Helping to offset those losses, energy jumped 2.1%, ...
Jun 06, 2022•10 min•Season 3Ep. 89
Up 0.9% on the day and 0.8% on the week. It was a broad based day of gains with ten out of eleven sectors ending the day on a positive note. Why choose between value and growth? Have a bit of both! Materials and IT did the lion's share to lift the local index. Champion Iron making its mark to end the week - up more than 8%. Gold Road and Liontown Resources rounded out a commodities heavy top three. Healius slumped after a disappointing guidance update and Domino's got burned 3.6%. As we bookend ...
Jun 03, 2022•13 min•Season 3Ep. 89
June has a reputation for being tough for markets. Perhaps we’re seeing that already. The local market sat in negative territory throughout the day with investors showing little willingness to take on risk. Perhaps it was caution ahead of tomorrow’s US jobs report or renewed hawkish rhetoric from central bankers. Maybe it was concern about the chaos in Australia’s east coast energy market. Pick your poison. Most sectors finished in the red. Technology, telecommunications and healthcare shed more...
Jun 02, 2022•9 min•Season 3Ep. 88
The local market edged higher to start the month, helped by a bid in blue chips. There was a clear tilt towards quality names, perhaps reflecting that June is traditionally not great for market returns. The S&P/ASX 20 jumped 1.4%. In contrast, the Small Ordinaries slid 1.7%. Chalk and cheese. Utilities was the laggard, slumping 5.3% as Origin Energy withdrew guidance and warned of “extreme volatility” in thermal coal markets. Unsurprisingly, its shares were smoked, falling 14.6%. Elsewhere, ...
Jun 01, 2022•12 min•Season 3Ep. 88
Investors took risk off the table to close out May, logging the second monthly decline in a row. After big gains in the previous two sessions, it was a soggy day all round with every sector finishing lower, led by consumer discretionary, financials, technology and telecommunications which all skidded by more than 1.5%. Not even better-than-expected final GDP inputs were enough to get investors excited, all but confirming Australia’s economy was purring earlier this year. Nor was there any enthus...
May 31, 2022•12 min•Season 3Ep. 87
The market opened higher and kept on going, closing at three-week highs. It was a quintessential melt-up Monday, helped by soft volumes, month-end window dressing and hopes for a policy pivot from the Fed. Every sector except industrials finished higher, led by a 4.6% surge in information technology. Utilities fell 0.7%, dragged lower by a 1% decline in AGL shares as the company scrapped plans to split into two business units. Grok Ventures 1. AGL board 0. At the individual level, it was a conte...
May 30, 2022•15 min•Season 3Ep. 86
Friday finished the week with a bang - the ASX200 added 1.1% for the session, taking the index into positive territory or the week. The gains were broadbased. But from an index point of view, Rio and BHP carried the load. The outperforming sectors were energy, thanks to an overnight rally in oil, and consumer discretionary, with our consumer stocks again taking the lead from Wall Street’s moves. Up one day and down the next - Appen’s wild ride continued. The stock shed 22% on remarkably high vol...
May 27, 2022•19 min•Season 3Ep. 85
The S&P/ASX 200 took a spill just after the witching hour and it was one-way trade after that. The index shed 0.7% for the session, in a day of broad based losses which saw 10 of 11 sectors finish lower. IT was the lone winner after the NASDAQ's overnight rally. Appen was the big mover of the day, climbing almost 30% before entering a trading halt as Telus International - a Canadian telco - lobbed out a $9.50 per share takeover offer. Endeavour shares made up the bottom of the table – droppi...
May 26, 2022•16 min•Season 3Ep. 84
A few nerves crept in at the close, but it was a winning day with the local market ending in the green - settling up 0.37% to 7155. Agriculture was the place to be, percentage wise. Costa Group added 8.5% after a positive update at its AGM, and Nufarm gained 5.6% back after yesterday's selloff inspired by Sumitomo Chemicals selling its stake in the company. Perseus Mining wrapped up its acquisition of Orca Gold, which saw shares pop a further 4.5%. There wasn't an obvious catalyst for City Chic'...
May 25, 2022•13 min•Season 3Ep. 84
"Not mad, just disappointed," could sum up many investors' sentiment towards the market again today after the S&P/ASX 200 flopped 0.28% to 7129. Tabcorp plummeted 81% after is spun off its lottery and Keno business, which is now listed as The Lottery Corporation (TLC). Nufarm dropped 14% on news Sumitomo Chemical sold its 16% block trade in the company worth some $324 million. Miners of different kinds led the modest market gains, Perseus Mining, Allkem and Iluka Resources rose between 2-4% ...
May 24, 2022•13 min•Season 3Ep. 84
The local marketed moved with less conviction than Aussie voters over the weekend; while chewing over the Federal election outcome the S&P/ASX 200 closed up a measly 0.05% to 7148.9. Materials once again supported the broader market - adding 0.8%. Codan was the stock specific winner, ending the day up 14.5% after flagging its second half profits should match its record $50 million first half success. Imugene managed to escape its recent rut after telling investors its in a strong position to...
May 23, 2022•12 min
Friday is quickly becoming “buy-day” with the local bourse staging another big rally to end the week. Buying kicked in as soon as the market opened, helped along by China’s central bank cutting a key interest rate linked to mortgages. Options expiry in the United States was also cited as a factor behind the big gains. Chalice Mining topped the leader board, jumping 18.7% after obtaining permission to drill in the Julimar State Forest. Novonix wasn’t far behind with a gain of 10.1%. Its CEO appea...
May 20, 2022•12 min•Season 3Ep. 82
The winning streak is over, coming to a shuddering end as strong inflation and slowing consumer demand sparked a global sell off. But it could have been worse. Just ask Wall Street. Most sectors finished deep in the red, led by big falls in consumer discretionary and staples, mirroring the performance in States overnight. The former slumped 3.1%, the latter 3.7%. Wesfarmers, arguably the closest thing to a Walmart or Target in Australia, was smashed, slumping 7.3%. Other consumer-linked stocks w...
May 19, 2022•11 min•Season 3Ep. 81
Three from three became four from four, extending the bounce to 3.5%. So far so good for the rebuild. Mirroring Wall Street, buying was widespread, led materials, industrials, REITs and tech which added more than 1.8%. Curiously, big gains in the miners came despite big falls in Chinese commodity futures during the session. The strong performance may have been helped by a softer-than-expected Australian wages report, easing pressure on the RBA to deliver a supersized rate hike in June. While tha...
May 18, 2022•15 min•Season 3Ep. 80
Make that three from three. We haven’t seen a winning streak like this in nearly a month. Energy led the gains, adding 2.1%. The coal producers had a strong session with Whitehaven up 5.5%. New Hope wasn’t far behind with an increase of 4.3%. Speculation that lockdowns in China may soon end helped materials which rose 1.1%. The battery names found some spark with Allkem, Mineral Resources and Core Lithium soaring more than 5.5%. James Hardie didn’t fare so well, sliding 3.95% following its FY22 ...
May 17, 2022•15 min•Season 3Ep. 79
A big early bounce fizzled, undermined by weak Chinese economic data a reluctance from policymakers to ease monetary policy further. But back-to-back gains have been rare recently, so we’ll take the green on screen. Info Technology started where it left off last week, adding another 2.1%, helped by a big bounce on the Nasdaq on Friday. Xero’s substantial price drop is still attracting buyers, seeing it lift by a further 5.1%. Industrials enjoyed a strong day with a pop of 2.4%, helped by confirm...
May 16, 2022•15 min•Season 3Ep. 78
Thursday’s rout was replaced by Friday’s rally, creating a mirror image of 24 hours earlier. No news was good news, it seems. But who cares, we’ll take it. Mercifully, no sunglasses were required to peruse the market map. Except for the goldies, it was a placid sea of green. Every sector was higher, led by technology with a gain of 7%. Energy, consumer discretionary, healthcare, communications and REITs also climbed more than 2%. Told you it was a mirror image. Demonstrating that point, having b...
May 13, 2022•12 min•Season 3Ep. 77
Splat! Losses mounted as the session progressed, sending Australia’s benchmark index to the lowest close since late January. Every sector finished deep in the red, almost requiring this scribe to wear sunglasses to peruse the market map. It was glowing, and not in a good way. Tech was taken the woodshed and chopped up, plunging 8.7%. And you thought the Nasdaq unwind was big. Square was smashed, losing 18%. Altium tanked 17%. Xero’s half-year was treated like a zero, sliding 10.9% to fresh two-y...
May 12, 2022•16 min•Season 3Ep. 76
The local market recovered from an early wobble to close in the green, helped by a surge in Chinese equities and position squaring ahead of a key US inflation print. Healthcare led the turnaround with a gain of 1.7%, driven by buying in CSL after it announced a new plasma collection system to boost immunoglobulin sales. It rose 2.5% Financials were the laggard, hit by NAB trading ex-dividend and lower rate environment. Lifestyle Communities topped the individual leader board following its tradin...
May 11, 2022•12 min•Season 3Ep. 75
The S&P/ASX200 closed nearly 1% lower at 7,051 - but it could have been much worse... As the local market sank by 2% through 7000 in the first hour of trade, last month's near all time high seemed a distant memory. But then beaten down growth stocks were bought including Xero, Iress, REA Group and Tyro. Pendal ended 9% higher after an earnings beat and upbeat outlook. US futures showed a glimmer of hope through the afternoon session, Chinese markets were positive and Bitcoin added 5%. Have w...
May 10, 2022•13 min•Season 3Ep. 75
The local market took the path of least resistance and traded lower from the get go. Growth stocks are again labouring under elevated bond yields, and tech closed down 3.3%, dragged by Block’s 6.4% loss. Westpac shone, the market rewarding an earnings beat, and closed up 3%. Otherwise the financial sector closed down smalls. Energy was a rare sector in the green (oh the irony) closing up 0.5%. Novonix, City Chic and Newscorp were smashed for different reasons: the media giant due to broker downg...
May 09, 2022•11 min•Season 3Ep. 74
