ASX 200 had a roller-coaster end of quarter and month with the ASX 200 finally settling down 105 points at 5077 (-2.02%). For the quarter, the index is down 24%. Dow futures slipped 140 points. The early optimism ran out of juice at lunch time and the miners dragged the index lower. BHP fell 4.0%, RIO down 3.4% and NCM down 6.0% as gold miners sagged. AUD strength perhaps or the stronger Chinese PMI. Banks bar CBA rose with WBC up 2.1% and NAB up 2.3%. Big Bank Basket $111.96. Healthcare stocks saw profit-taking after the stellar run yesterday, CSL down 5.1%, FPH down 4.6% and ANN falling 6.3%. Consumer stocks under some pressure following the WES sell down of 5.2% in COL, down 9.9%. Bond proxies slipped led by TCL down 0.9%, SYD down 6.0% and ALX down 7.5%. REITs found buyers, GMG up 1.4%, SGP bounced back by 9.5%. Energy stocks found a few friends as US and Russia start to talk perhaps. WPL up 1.3% and OSH up 3%, two of the best. The All Tech Index was up a mere 0.5%. In corporate news, updates are slowing but seeing a few miners now making some comments, WES sold down the COL stake and EML showed that this crisis can be used for their own advantage having renegotiated a better price for its recent acquisition and the stock rose 23.3%. VAH rose 18.75% after holding out the begging bowl for $1.4bn. QAN wants over $4bn. 10-year yields steady at 0.75%. AUD on the up at 61.76c. In Asia, we saw mixed markets with China up 0.21% on its economic recovery and Japan down 2.19%.

Today’s Highlights

• ASX 200 down 105 to 5077. Volumes down a little.
• High 5366 Low 5006. Plenty of to and fro.
• Dow futures down 140 points.
• Big Bank Basket $111.96
• 10-year bond yields steady at 0.75%
• AUD rises to 61.76c.
• Aussie gold falls to $2612
• Bitcoin rallies to US$6437
• Asian markets mixed with China up 0.21% and Japan down 2.19%.

 

STOCKS                                               

• EML +23.32% renegotiates acquisition cost down significantly.
• SBM -6.17% market update.
• CBR +35.14% Bell Potter cuts PT by 56% to 255c.
• WTC +7.89% guidance may be too optimistic.
• VAH +18.75% goes full Oliver and asks for ‘more’.
• CCP +25.48% Macquarie goes substantial.
• NEC +9.05% fear sells. Cut jobs at glossy travel mags.
• COL -9.87% WES sell down.
• WOW -7.97% panic buying eases.
• LEG +% good drill intercepts.
• ECX +38.78% ceasing to be a substantial shareholder.
• HLO +37.55% relief rally.
• Speculative stock of the day: Titomic (TTT) + 50.50% after it announced a partnership with Triton to enter the US$60bn US DoD sector.
• Biggest Rises: CCP, EML, GMA, VAH, TYR, and DDR
• Biggest Falls: RSG, AZJ, URW, COL, EVN, CIA and PRU.

TODAY

• The Star Entertainment Group (SGR) +5.39% to defer interim dividend to July 2 from April 1. No final dividend to be declared in FY20. The board agreed to withdraw its dividend policy of paying out a minimum of 70% of normalised profits after tax until further notice.
• Syrah Resources (SYR) +10.64% reports FY NPAT (US$130.5m) vs year-ago (US$29M). Revenue US$72.2m vs consensus US$72.2m.
• Wesfarmers (WES) –4.51% Offloads 5.2% of Coles Group for $1.06bn. Expects to recognise a pre-tax profit of approximately $130m. Following the sale, WES retains a 4.9% interest in Coles and has agreed to keep its remaining interest for 60 days.
• Virgin Australia (VAH) +18.75% is reportedly seeking a $1.4bn loan rescue package from the government. The proposal would potentially see the government take part ownership of VAH if it was unable to repay the loan within 2-3 years.
• Regional Express Holdings (REX) -18.94% to shut down all Queensland services tomorrow. With cash fast running out and no immediate prospect of a solution from the Queensland Government, Rex has no choice but to declare a Force Majeure event for the Contract and suspend all services on Queensland regulated routes indefinitely.
• LiveHire (LVH) +38.55% awarded Queensland government staff redeployment contract. The Queensland Public Service Commission will use LiveHire to support its “BeHere4Qld” project to redeploy over 15,000 public sector employees in a broad Government response to the crisis. The contract is around 6x average Annualised Recurring Revenue across LiveHire clients.

ECONOMIC and CV19 NEWS

• RBA will buy $3 billion of ‘long dated’ semi-government bonds as part of its daily bond purchase or quantitative easing programme.
• Goldman Sachs has cut its Iron Ore forecast to US$79 a tonne from US$85. The broker is expecting a sharp fall in economic activity is expected to deliver a 5% contraction in global steel production in 2020 compared to 1.4% growth in 2019.
• The ‘Italian Job’ stimulus plan could risk blowing the doors off the AAA rating.

BONDS

ASIAN NEWS

• Once upon a time there were the Chinese PMI numbers. The official purchasing managers’ index rose to 52.0 this month, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. That’s up from a record low of 35.7 in February and above the 50 mark which signals improving conditions. The gauge covering services and construction was at 52.3. And they all lived happily ever after.

• China will start to issue official numbers of thise that are infected but show no symptoms.
• China’s economic growth will fall to zero this year and six developing countries in the region will slump into a deep recession so says the World Bank. The report has China’s economy growing at just 0.1% in 2020, down from 6.1% last year.

EUROPEAN AND US NEWS

• BlackRock CEO Larry Fink predicted the economy will eventually recover from the coronavirus outbreak, though he said the crisis will reshape investor psychology, business practices and consumer habits.
• Seconds away Round Four? Fresh from agreeing the third round of rescue packages, the US is starting to talk of another one. White House officials have compiled lists of requests from government agencies totalling roughly $600bn while Nancy with the ‘laughing face’ Pelosi is drawing up her own list of people and companies to help.
• Suspect there may be a number of unicorns in strife as some of the VCs try to liquidate risk positions in start ups.
• Lockdown fatigue becoming an issue in Spain and Italy.
• J&J get everyone excited about new vaccine possibility. Will take months of testing but if it works and a long way to go but could be fast tracked to first quarter of 2021. Still a year away. Calm down.

And finally…

Sorry no time for a joke today…just the facts mam. As John McClane would say

 

Clarence

XXX