The ASX 200 slipped 43 points to 6015 in late fall despite stronger Asian markets and US futures pointing to a strong open. Maybe the new Victorian lockdown is sapping confidence. Dow futures up 350 points. Miners held the market back today with iron ore in the spotlight following MS cutting its forecasts to US$80 by year end. BHP fell 1.7% and FMG down 0.7%. Gold miners too under a little pressure as the AUD rallied, NCM down 1.4% and EVN down 1.2% whilst SAR hit an old time high up 0.7%. Healthcare stocks led down by CSL dropping 2.2% and RHC down 1.7%. Banks were stagnant with WBC easing 0.5% and the Big Bank Basket down to $127.69. Industrials were mixed at best. TCL fell 2.4%, TLS continued their good run rising 0.9% and COL rose 0.3%. In the tech space, APT rose yet another 0,7% on a QAN tie up and WTC continued its recent strong run of wins up 4.5%. The All Tech Index flatlined. In corporate news, EOS soared 23.3% on its contract win potentially with the federal government, MSB up 11.3% on an EAP for its Remestemcell program. PET rallied hard by 30.36% on a business update and SWF had a good day in the sunshine up 15.38% on a business update. The 10-year yield rallied to 0.92% and the AUD on the up to 69.61c. In Asia, the Chinese rally continues with another big jump on a hoped for rebound for the economy, Japan up 1.7% and China up a huge 5.1% and HK up 3.0%.

Today’s Highlights

• ASX 200 down 43 points in soggy lifeless trade.
• High 6078 Low 6015. Quiet start to the week.
• Big Bank Basket slips to $127.69
• All Tech Index flatlines.
• Victorian/NSW border to close.
• 84 trading days until the US election.
• Dow Futures up 320.
• 10-year bond yields rise to 0.92%
• AUD firms to 69.61c
• Aussie gold slips to $2547.
• Bitcoin steady at US$9092
• In Asia, the Chinese rally continues with another big jump on a hoped for rebound for the economy, Japan up 1.7% and China up a huge 5.1% and HK up 3.0%.

STOCKS

• ABC -6.81% brokers slash PTs.
• EOS +23.31% government contract for 251 laser platforms.
• LOV +18.60% broker upgrade.
• JIN +12.96% rally continues.
• MSB +11.28% EAP for Remestemcell in children.
• AEF -3.79% pressure still on.
• CWN -2.97% Victorian outbreak hurts.
• ESK -13.19% continued profit taking.
• QFE +33.33% response to ASX speeding ticket.
• PET +30.36% business update.
• SWF +15.38% strong result in new clients.
• VAH – bond holders head to court to stop sale.
• WSP +15.95% kicks higher.
• Speculative Stock of the Day: Redstone Resources (RDS) +150.00% good volume on announcement of thick 95m of copper sulphides intersected at EM5 7.2km North East of Tollu. The copper mineralisation remains untested in all directions, the igneous intrusion is over 400m in diameter according to magnetic geophysics data.
• Biggest Rises: EOS, LOV, JIN, MSB, PLS, OML and BUB.
• Biggest Falls: ABC, BGA, PG, PGH, AEF, REA, HMC and MND.

TODAY

• Reliance Worldwide (RWC) +1.39% Interim CFO Andrew Johnson named CFO. Johnson has served as interim Group CFO since March 2020.
• Centuria Industrial REIT (CIP) – Rent collection averaged 95% from April to June. External valuations were completed on 30 of 51 properties, representing 50% by value. Combined with director valuations, the increase in portfolio value was $21m or 1.3% compared to the preceding book value. The portfolio’s weighted average capitalisation rate (WACR) tightened from 6.19% to 6.05%.
• Pinnacle Investment Management (PNI) +2.54% Appoints Dan Longan as CFO.
• Mayne Pharma (MYX) +3.66% To enter into a long-term supply agreement with Novast Laboratories for 13 US generic oral contraceptive products. Four of the additional products are FDA approved and include generic equivalents with the fifth product pending at FDA. According to IQVIA, the annual US market sales for the five additional products is US$500m.
• City Chic Collective (CCX) +5.52% Confirms it is exploring acquisition opportunities, although adds it isn’t in advanced discussions.
• Adacel Technologies (ADA) +25.29% Increases FY profit before tax (ex-items) guidance to $4.8m vs prior guided $4.0m.
• APN Convenience Retail REIT (AQR) -0.28% To acquire Brisbane Airport Link Service Centre for $10.5m. The acquisition price represents a purchase yield of 6.15%. The acquisition will be funded from existing debt capacity, taking AQR’s gearing to 17%.
• Qantas (QAN) -0.79%, Afterpay (APT) +0.74% Qantas announces exclusive partnership with Afterpay. Qantas Frequent Flyers can earn up to 5,000 Qantas Points when they link their membership number to their Afterpay account.

ECONOMIC NEWS

• ANZ job advertisements lifted 42% over the month to 89,252 in June, following a downwardly revised 0.3% fall a month earlier.
• Westpac has revised its federal budget deficit forecast for FY21 to $240bn or a quite sizeable 12.2% of GDP. The fiscal-year 2021 budget deficit estimate of $240bn comprises a cyclical deficit of $100bn and around $90bn in already-announced fiscal stimulus and about $50bn of new spending.
• Morgan Stanley says Iron ore prices will fall to US$80 by the end of the year. Part of the downgrade springs from a resurgence in Brazil’s supply, Morgan Stanley says its shipments tracker shows Vale’s annualised shipping rate increased to 315mtonnes a year in late June compared to level below 200m tonnes a year in early May.

COVID-19 NEWS

• Los Angeles County, the epicentre of the outbreak in California, said it had a record 3,187 new Covid-10 cases on Friday.
• Coronavirus cases in the U.S. increased by almost 56,000 from Saturday, a 2% rise that outpaced the 1.8% average daily increase over the past week.
• The U.K. will spend GBP1.6bn(US$2bn) on theatre, museums and music venues in a bid to rescue the arts and culture sector.
• South Africa reported a record 173 deaths, bringing the total to 3,199.
• The Department for Health and Social Care reported that the U.K. had another 516 positive cases on Saturday, down from 624 the day before.

BONDS

ASIAN NEWS

The IHS Markit purchasing managers’ index for Hong Kong climbed to 49.6 in June, the highest since March 2018.

EUROPEAN NEWS

• Strong opening in store for European markets.
• Audit shows Wirecard core business had not made any money in years. US and Europe far worse than expected.
• Extended and high levels of loose monetary policy will be required for a long-time buoying liquidity along with global equity and bond prices, according to JPMorgan who now forecast a $16 trillion increase in worldwide debt this year that would push the combination of private and public sector borrowing to a record high $200 trillion by year-end.
• Uber and Postmates agree on a US$2.65bn stock deal which will see Uber Easts take out its rival. Uber has recently tried unsuccessfully to acquire GrubHub after it was snapped up by Just Eat for US$7.3bn.
• US now has two aircraft carriers in the South China Sea.
• UK to begin to phase out Huawei from its 5G network this year.
• Kanye enters the race, maybe?

• German May Industrial orders up 10.4% M/M v 15% forecast., Still a big number though.

And finally….

What did the Buddhist ask the hot dog vendor?

“Make me one with everything.”

 

What is red and smells like blue paint?

Red paint.

 

A bear walks into a restaurant and say’s “I want a grilllllled………………………………………cheese.” The waiter says “Whats with the pause?”

The bear replies “Whaddya mean, I’M A BEAR.”

 

thanks thoughtcatalogue.com

Clarence

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