The ASX 200 slips another 23 points to 6707 as the markets wait uneasily for more trade news. US Futures down points. A quiet day’s trade with no real new stories around as banks drifted off yet again with WBC down 0.6% and NAB down 1.5%. In financials APRA released its heat map of over and under super fund performers with WBC showing badly. Industrials in a broad-based sell off with really only the health sector in the green as CSL plodded higher by 0.1%. The big winners today were the iron ore miners as hopes for further stimulus from China helped push iron ore up 5% plus. BHP rose 1.1% together with FMG up another 1.2% and RIO up 1.3%. Consumer stocks weakened with WES down 0.5% and COL down 0.7%. In corporate news, WTC made a $20m acquisition in South Korea and slid 1.1%, last day for BAL trading today, A2M recovered 3.1% after the CEO inspired sell off yesterday. On the economic front Governor Lowe gave a speech this morning, business confidence was down a tad whilst house prices continue to be ramped higher. In other news, CEOs have called on the government for urgent action to boost growth. Ten-year yields were pretty flat at 1.13% and the AUD doing little around 68.31c. In Asian markets, an uneasy calm ahead of the Fed and the trade deadline with Japan down by 0.04% and China off 0.17%.

• ASX 200 down 23 to 6707.
• High 6734 Low 6708 Volumes well below average.
• Miners cheer iron ore rise on stimulus hopes.
• Banks under pressure again. CSL marches higher.
• Industrials weaker across the board. Waiting for Fed and tariffs.
• 10-year bond yields rally to 1.13%.
• AUD steady at 68.31c
• US futures up 36 points.
• Aussie gold steady at $2138
• Bitcoin falls to US$7365
• Asian markets mixed with Japan up 0.34% and China down 0.22%

STOCKS                                               

• Z1P +4.57% rebounds as SPP continues.
• HM1 +2.52% NTA information and approvals.
• VUK +2.38% taking a punt on Boris.
• MSB +2.13% early gains again.
• SYD -2.64% smoke hits city.
• PAR -5.32% profit taking.
• MPL -0.31% Citi lifts PT.
• LEG -7.41% pulled lower.
• WZR -3.12% new chief risk and data officer.
• BOQ -2.01% AGM warns of challenges ahead.
• ALU -0.08% Bell Potter raises PT.
• IFL +0.64% broker warns on risks.
• NUC +6.25% Saudi fund takes stake,
• KSL -7.28% placement weighs.
• FAR – launches equity raising.
• TOT -0.45% URB +0.48% merger approved.
• BAL – last day today. End of an era.
• ADT +10.13% admission to LSE listing.
• SPL +5.71% positive trial results.
• Speculative stock of the day: Aerometrex (AMX) +83.50% on its debut after raising $25m in an IPO for this geospatial mapping technology company.
• Biggest Risers: Z1P, ORE, EOS, A2M, JIN, FPH and HM1
• Biggest Falls: PAR, IMD, HSN, SGF, AVH, MTS and OPT

TODAY

• Bank of Queensland (BOQ) – 2.01% Repeats expectations for soft cash earnings at FY20 at AGM. Revenue & impairments broadly in line with FY19, costs growing due to regulatory compliance and increased technology investment.
• Superloop (SLC) -0.54% CFO Jon Tidd steps down to become Chief Customer Officer. Deputy CFO Lidia Valenzuela has been appointed as his replacement.
• WiseTech Global (WTC) -1.13% Acquires South Korean customs solutions provider, Ready Korea for $13.2m upfront, with a further earnout potential of up to $7.0m related operational milestones. Ready Korea’s adjusted CY18 annual revenue and EBITDA were $7.3m and $1.6m respectively.
• ANZ Bank (ANZ) -0.65% APRA approves IOOF Holding’s acquisition of the ANZ Wealth Pension and Investments business. ANZ expects the transaction to be completed in Q1 of CY20 and estimates it will increase its CET1 capital ratio by ~20 basis points. The bank has also re-launched the sales process for UDC Finance; first-round bids are due before Christmas.
• Midway (MWY) +1.52% Negotiates export price contract with major Chinese customers for H1 of 2020 at US$175 per bone dry tonne (BDT), which is $US7 lower than this year’s price, though some of the declines will be offset by the lower Australian dollar. H1 profit for FY20 is still expected to be materially lower vs pcp, though volume demand in H2 is anticipated to support a solid profit result for the full year.
• Bellamy’s (BAL) – Is expected to be suspended from the close of trade with the China Mengnio Dairy deal coming into effect shareholders will be paid 1325c per share on 23 December.

ECONOMIC NEWS

Governor Phillip Lowe has given a speech this morning on ‘A Payments System for the Digital Economy’ to the 2019 Australian Payments Network Summit.

Areas he covered. The third could be important for the BNPL sector and other fintechs next year.

• Progress so far.
• Where the RBA would like to see more progress, particularly around payments and the digital economy.
• Some of the issues the RBA will explore in next year’s review of retail payments regulation in Australia.

The full script of his speech can be accessed here.

• NAB Business Survey for November: Conditions: +4pts (unchanged) Confidence: 0 (down from +2pts).
• Australia ABS House Price Index for the September quarter: +2.4%/qtr (forecast: +1.5%/qtr) to -3.7%/yr (forecast: -4.6%/yr). House prices rose 4.0% in Sydney and 3.7% in Melbourne while attached dwelling prices rose 2.8% in Sydney and 3.6% in Melbourne.

• Capital Economics forecast a 7% rise in copper in 2020.

BOND MARKET

ASIAN NEWS

• China’s CPI lifted to 4.5% year-on-year in November, beating market estimates of 4.2%.
• China’s Postal Bank listed today. It rose around 2.7%on the open in Shanghai having raised around US$4.6bn making it the largest onshore listing since Agricultural Bank of China in 2010.
• More than 5,600 retail jobs could be lost in Hong Kong and thousands of stores shut down over the next six months due to the ongoing protests as the resulting recession continues.

EUROPEAN AND US NEWS

• Paul Volcker dead at 92. Chairman of the Fed from 1979 until 1987. Volcker was responsible for clean ups. He devised a successor to the gold standard, a cure for runaway inflation and a response to the US housing collapse in 2008. He won few friends on Wall Street with his plan, the Volcker Rule, which was overhauled by Trump.
• Morgan Stanley is laying off around 1500 people worldwide in a Xmas gesture.
• The US Agricultural secretary has said it is unlikely that the US will follow through with its next round of tariff increases on December 15^th. China’s Finance Ministry said last week, it’s in the process of waving tit for tat tariffs on imports of U.S. pork and soy by domestic companies.
• Return of the Jedi. Amazon will sue the Pentagon over defence contract.
• Finland has a new PM and she is the youngest in the world at 34.
• Boris is a sure winner with his new ad. Click here for the ad.

And finally…

An old teacher asked her student, “If I say, ‘I am beautiful,’ which tense is that?” The student replied, “It is obviously past.”

 

Math Teacher: “If I have 5 bottles in one hand and 6 in the other hand, what do I have?”
Student: “A drinking problem.”

Teacher: “Name a bird with wings but can’t fly.”
Student: “A dead bird, sir.”

Clarence

XXX