Today’s Headlines

• ASX 200 fights back to close up 0.1 to 6268
• High 6287 Low 6251. Unchanged for the week.
• China has record trade surplus with US.
• Not Viva Las Vegas.
• Banks struggle on profit-taking. Big Bank Index falls to $161.50 from $162.40.
• CSL pushes ahead. COH joins the club.
• Staples weaker as BHP stutters.
• AUD hit down to 74.14c
• Bitcoin slips to US$6244
• Aussie Gold weaker at $1679.10
• US futures up 113
• Asian markets bounce hard as tensions ease Japan up 2.02% and China up 0.49%

STOCK STUFF

Movers and Shakers

• HUB +9.02% broker upgrades following FUM.
• FNP +5.89% brokers turn positive.
• KGN +6.57% US tech rally helps.
• LYC +2.44% bargain hunters.
• BSL +2.44% trade fears help.
• BLA +1.07% asset revaluations.
• APX +3.14% tech boom.
• GEM -2.06% media comments on valuation.
• VEA -4.00% first day. Nothing to write home about.
• IRI -18.54% company downgrade after hours.
• ELD -2.12% reverses rally.
• AVZ +9.38% lithium stocks in demand.
• ORG +3.08% oversold rally.
• PPS +5.58% brokers still bullish.
• COH +3.17% joins the 200 club.
• MIN +5.04% starts DFS on McIntosh.
• Speculative stock of the day: Stemcell United (SCU) +20.00% secures a contract to supply 50 tonnes of Resina. SCU secures Resina from its Indonesian agent and ships it to contractors to extract the active ingredient Dracohodin. Resina helps blood circulation, stops bleeding and reduces pain in stasis.
• Biggest risers – HUB, BVS, NWL, KGN, FNP and NHC.
• Biggest fallers – IRI, SXL, NEA, VEA, GWA and DCN

TODAY

• Integrated Research (IRI) –18.54% The company has warned (after the close) that its revenue growth will be flat between 1%-5% as a function of a cyclical downswing in infrastructure and underperforming European operations. The company has $11.2m in cash and no debt
• Netwealth (NWL) +8.05% June quarterly update. NWL lifts profit guidance to 6% above pro-forma NPAT forecast. The company hits $17.96bn FUA with a $1.95bn lift in the fourth quarter.
• Rio Tinto (RIO) -0.14% Its partner in the Grasberg Freeport McMoran, reached a “heads of agreement” with the Indonesian government on Thursday that would see at least 51% ownership of the mine handed to Indonesian state-owned company PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium Persero, which is better known as “Inalum”.

ECONOMIC NEWS

• Nothing locally.

ASIAN MARKET NEWS

• China: June Trade Balance at US$41.61bn against forecasts of US$27.72bn
• June Exports up 11.3% exp 9.5%
• Imports up 14.1% expected 21.3% – this will worry the A2Ms etc on the ASX
• US Trade surplus US$28.97bn US$24.5bn in May.

EUROPEAN AND US HEADLINES

• Morgan Stanley cut its forecast for net US government debt issued by the Treasury by $US690bn through 2020. The bank sees 10-year Treasury yields at 2.75% by year-end, and 2.50% by mid-2019. It previously forecast them at 2.85% for end-2018 and 2.70% for the second quarter of 2019. The yield curve will invert “by mid-2019.
• Fresh from success at NATO, Trump takes aim in the UK.
• Wilbur Ross told to sell everything by US ethics committee.
• The UK releases 98-page white paper plan for Brexit. Wouldn’t want to be May this weekend. News out that the Queen is washing her hair. Phillip is thrilled finds a soulmate.
• OECD has forecast that countries pushing tariffs up would be down 0.5% on its GDP.

And finally…………………

Have a great weekend…Bastille Day Tomorrow Allez Les Blues

Clarence

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