ASX 200 rallies 190 points to 4736. Rallying hard into the close after a lacklustre early afternoon. Dow futures up 650 points. The market hit a brick wall after lunch, but things are calming down slightly (famous last words) and buyers were back at the death. Tuesday is a traditional rally day in the US markets, so expect a rally overnight and especially if the US Congress can agree on a stimulus deal. Banks were a bright spot with the majority higher and the Big Bank Basket up to $100.76. WBC rose 2.9% in a late rally , NAB up 3.7% and CBA up 5%. Other financials also saw buyers back in MQG rose 10.9% and IAG up 6.2%. MFG up 11.6% was another bright spot. In miners, the iron ore price fall did nothing to curb some enthusiasm BHP up 5.1% and FMG up late by 1.9% despite ore falls. Gold miners were a highlight led by NCM up 6.5% and NST up 16.9% and EVN up 9.0%. In industrials, we had a mixed box of chocolates. CSL rose 1.1%, TLS fired up 2.3% and WOW dropped 0.7% after a business update emphasising the poker machine exposure and Dan Murphy demerger now off the cards. Bond proxies saw some relief as credit markets took some positives out of the Fed going all Buzz Lightyear. TCL rose 9.3% and GMG up 12.0%. Tech stocks had a good day out with APT bouncing again 26%, XRO doing well up 7.4% and the All Tech Index up 6.4%. Credit exposed companies were back in demand after a huge sell-off yesterday. CCP up 45.9% and CGF up 17.2%, both doing well. Energy stocks looked interesting as we saw some strength return to the oil futures, WPL up 5.6% and STO up 20.5%. In corporate news, many were abandoning guidance some even saying things were fine, but uncertainty remains high. BBN clawed back 14.4% after a strong update. EOS up 13.4% in a similar vein. In economic news, the ANZ consumer confidence number was a shocker, down 28%. The 10-year yield settled around 0.87% and the AUD is stronger around 59.13c. Asian market recovering nicely with China up 1.4% and Japan up 5.7%.

• ASX 200 up 190 to 4736.
• High 4736 Low 4556. Sleepy lunch but buying ramps up at close.
• Dow futures up 650. Fed stimulus hits the mark. Even Trump says great work.
• Waiting for US package to pass. Still.
• 10-year bond yields fall again to 0.87%
• AUD bounces to 59.13c.
• Aussie gold rises to $2659
• Bitcoin rallies hard to US$6469
• Asian markets mixed with Japan up 2.7% and China down around 3%.

STOCKS                                               

• APT +25.96% optimism returns.
• MXT +24.11% credit markets improve and NTA discount still.
• CTD +31.25% brokers rally round.
• ALX +18.94% short covering. Italy looking a little more positive.
• CGF +17.17% credit markets recover.
• PRU +20.53%, RMS +22.09% SAR +17.85% and NST +16.86% gold miners rally.
• GNC -55.64% ex-bonus and demerger of malt business.
• IVC -9.02% not such a sure thing.
• PDL -2.47% market update.
• SCG -4.35% brokers downgrade.
• BEN -3.53% sinking into the sunset.
• VGL -27.85% market update.
• MHJ -14.55% closes stores.
• MYS +0.61% CEO to stay.
• FLT – still suspended.
• JMS -11.36% 21-day mine shut down.
• CCP +45.92% credit markets free up.
• EOS +13.42% market update.
• ALL +10.69% brokers still upbeat.
• Speculative stock of the day: ResApp Health +110.14% after doing a deal to deploy on the Phenix Health telehealth app.
• Biggest Rises: CTD, APT, MXT, RMS, STO, PRU and BWP.
• Biggest Falls: GNC, VUK, IFL, IVC, PPT and ALQ.

TODAY

• Cleanaway Waste Management (CWY) +5.61% suspends FY20 guidance however trading remains in line with internal forecasts. Is proceeding with the previously announced interim dividend of 2.0cps.
• Woolworths Group (WOW) -0.74% unable to forecast guidance given outbreak uncertainty, defers separation of Endeavour Group until calendar 2021.
• Rio Tinto (RIO) +1.07% to will slow down some of its operations, notes it is too early to speculate on 2020 production guidance. At Richards Bay Minerals in South Africa RIO will halt operations for 21 days in compliance with a directive from the Government. Resumption of the construction of the Zulti South project will be delayed.
• Perenti Global (PRN) – withdraws FY20 earnings guidance. The company said it is implementing strategies focused on liquidity management to ensure it is in the strongest possible position financially.
• ResMed (RMD) +9.83% To increase the production of ventilators, masks, and other respiratory devices. The company had this to say, “ResMed is taking every measure possible worldwide to maximize the production of ventilators, masks, and other respiratory devices. We are looking to double or triple the output of ventilators, and scale-up ventilation mask production more than tenfold.”
• Seven West Media (SWM) +1.52% Following a material fall in advertising activity, suspension or postponement of events, SWM is unable to provide meaningful earnings guidance for the remainder of FY20.
• New Hope Corp (NHC) +17.16% reports H1 NPAT $86.4m ex-items vs $159.8m a year ago. Revenue $618.2m vs $616.7m a year ago, EBITDA $212.6m $285.2m a year ago. CEO comments on outlook; Bengalla mine on track for another record year of production.
• Midway (MWY) +4.44% provides COVID-19 update; remains comfortable with consensus FY EBITDA forecasts saying operations around the country have not been impacted at this stage by the latest COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Federal and State Governments. Harvesting, processing and wood fibre trading continue as normal. Demand from major trading partners in China and Japan remains stable. The company is seeing signs of China rapidly returning to normal trading conditions.

ECONOMIC NEWS

• Westpac’s Bill Evans has forecast that we will see 814,000 job losses in the second quarter and that will lift unemployment to 11.1% and the economy will contract 3.5% in the period. Evans said the recovery in the third quarter is set to be “slow” and sees the jobless rate remaining at 11% and GDP still shrinking 0.3%. The turnaround will come in the final three months of 2020.

• Weekly consumer confidence fell by a massive 27.8% last week. This fall has bought the headline index to just above the all-time lows recorded in 1990.

BOND MARKET

ASIAN NEWS

• Thailand said confirmed coronavirus infections jumped by 106 to 827, and three more people died.
• Economic activity collapsed in China in February. Chinese companies had their worst quarter on record, with every individual sector reporting worse results in the first three months of this year, according to the China Beige Book, a quarterly survey of firms.

EUROPEAN AND US NEWS

• UK goes to full lockdown.
• Trump said America will reopen in sooner than three or four months.
• The death toll from the pandemic topped 16,500, recoveries have reached 100,000, according to a Johns Hopkins tally.
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s first coronavirus test came back negative.
• Intel will donate personal protective equipment, announcing it will donate more than a million items, including face masks, gloves and other gear to health-care workers.
• U.S. regulators have lifted some restrictions on an Indian pharmaceutical company allowing it to supply tablets as well as raw materials for making chloroquine phosphate and hydroxychloroquine sulphate, in an attempt to increase supplies of the malaria drug that President Donald Trump said has potential as a coronavirus treatment.
• Boeing shut down in-state production after a worker at its Everett plant died of Covid-19 yesterday.

And finally ………………

• What did the drummer call his twin daughters? Anna one, Anna two!
• How did Darth Vader know what Luke got him for Christmas? He felt his presents!
• Did you hear about the chameleon who couldn’t change color? He had a reptile dysfunction.
• What’s Forrest Gump’s password? 1forrest1
• To the man in the wheelchair that stole my camouflage jacket… You can hide but you can’t run.

Clarence

XXX