The ASX 200 hits seven month high up 64 points to 6196 as a late fade takes off some gloss. Dow futures eased by 80 points. Strong out of the blocks today and held gains despite some occasional wobbles. AGM season helping sentiment especially with CBA rising 1.1% on its positive outlook and logo change. The Big Bank Basket rose to $127.19. Other financials rose too with MQG up 1.0% and MFG up 1.4%. Insurers rose too with QBE up 3.2% and IAG up 2.3%. Miners failed to get the invite to the ASX party with BHP down 0.4% , RIO flat  with FMG down 1.4%. Gold miners too out of sorts, NCM lost 0.3% with others similarly challenged. Oil stocks managed small gains with WPL up 0.8% cut 300 jobs as its looks to lower costs and STO up 0.4%. Industrials were firm with TLS up 4.0% as the AGM pointed to better times ahead. Same presentation as last year but word on the dividend helped. WES rose 1.8%, WOW up 1.5% and COL up 1.7%. BXB is quietly sneaking higher by 2.3%, but it was all about tech again, NXT up 3.3%, APT up 2.7% and WTC up 3.6%. XRO had another good day rising 1.8% with the All Tech Index up 1.1%. In corporate news, HUB up 2.2%, FUM at the end of September of $19.02bn vs $17.22bn at the end of June. ORA down 0.8%, CFO Stuart Hutton to leave the company in November, Shaun Hughes appointed replacement. NEA down 2.0% despite CEO comments FY21 had started strongly. LNK up 0.4%, upgraded by Morgan Stanley to equal-weight. Downgraded by Ord Minnett to hold. ISU unchanged on CEO and Q1 update. The ANZ-Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence index last week lifted 2.1% to 19-week high of 97.7. The 10- year bond yield down to 0.83% AUD under a little pressure at 71.86c.  Asian markets saw HK closed as a Typhoon hit. Japan up 0.27% and China down 0.39%.

Today’s Highlights

  • ASX 200 up 64 to 6196. Fades into close.
  • High 6215 Low 6143
  • Big Bank Basket rallies hard to $127.19
  • All Tech Index up 1.1%.
  • 13 trading days until the US election.
  • Dow Futures down 80
  • Gold rallies to AUD$2664
  • 10-year bond yield slips to 0.84%
  • AUD slips to 71.86c
  • Bitcoin up to US$11,474.
  • Asian markets saw HK closed as a Typhoon hit. Japan up 0.27% and China down 0.39%.

STOCKS

  • TLS +3.96% AGM dividend hopes cheer.
  • CBA +1.12% AGM CEO survives push back on remuneration.
  • WHC +0.51% NHC -7.31% CRN -7.82% coal issues in China.
  • PBH +7.96% notice of AGM
  • ANO +3.75% chairman’s address to shareholders.
  • URW +7.47% agreement to sell SHiFt for EUR620m
  • WAF -10.74% Diggers and Dealers presentation.
  • PLL -13.59% change in substantial holding.
  • 4DX -8.63 % profit taking continues.
  • SFX -9.52% quarterly report.
  • APT +2.67% new all time high reached.
  • VUK +7.47% UK hopes despite further lockdowns.
  • WTC +3,.65% tech stocks doing well.
  • Speculative Stock of the Day: Indoor Skydive (IDZ) +150.00% Good volume on news of opening in Bondi Junction.
  • Biggest Winners: PBH, URW, VUK, GMA<, EBO, NHF and TLS
  • Biggest Losers: PLL, WAF, CRN, CHN, NHC, PLS and RED

TODAY

  • Emeco Holdings (EHL) -2.91% Expects another solid year in FY21. Strong demand in gold and iron ore expected to support continued growth in earnings and margins in the Western Region. Growth is also expected for Pit N Portal, particularly following the award of a large nickel project commencing in FY21. Management comments, “workshops activity levels are expected to remain high, as we focus on internal Emeco and Pit N Portal works, retail works on the east coast and building on our boiler making, fabrication and field maintenance services.”
  • Telstra (TLS) +3.96% Repeats guidance in AGM presentation. Sees FY21 income between $23.2-25.1bn, underlying EBITDA in the range of $6.5-7.0bn and Capex of $2.8-3.2bn. T22 strategy update,one of the targets that will not be met within the original T22 timeframe is the return on invested capital (ROIC) target of >10% by end FY22. The revised ROIC target, sees ROIC of greater than 7% by FY23. Management Comments on Dividend, “the board clearly understands the importance of the dividend and if necessary is prepared to temporarily exceed our capital management framework principle of paying an ordinary dividend of 70-90% of underlying earnings to maintain a 16c dividend.”
  • Evolution Mining (EVN) -0.16% CEO Jake Klein has reportedly told the Diggers and Dealers mining forum that the company has no intention of pursuing a large-scale merger. Adding Evolution’s current size is the optimum one at which to create meaningful value for shareholders, and that large-scale mergers had been attempted in the gold sector before with little success.
  • HUB24 (HUB) +2.22% Funds under administration at the end of September of $19.02bn vs $17.22bn at the end of June. Q1 highlights, net inflows $1.36bn, up 10% on the previous corresponding period.
  • Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals (PAR) -1.67% Appoints Justin Cahill as CFO. Cahill previously spent 9 years at CSL, including 5 years in the US as Divisional CFO of CSL Plasma.
  • Orora (ORA) -0.79% CFO Stuart Hutton to leave company in November, Shaun Hughes appointed replacement. Hughes has held multiple global financial and commercial roles with Telstra, Elders and IBM and was most recently the CFO of EBOS.
  • Senex Energy (SXY)-3.03% Q1 total production 803kboe vs year-ago 332kboe. Total sales volumes (kboe) 724 vs year-ago 319. Total sales revenue $31.1m vs year-ago $23.9m. Capital expenditure (net to Senex) $7.9m vs year-ago $40.6m.
  • Nearmap (NEA) -1.98% CEO comments from annual report, “Nearmap has continued strong trading in FY21, demonstrating resilience to macroeconomic conditions.”
  • iSelect (ISU) – Appoints Chief Marketing & Commercial Officer Warren Hebard as CEO. Q1EBITDA of $8.1m vs year-ago $1.7m. iSelect received $3.4m of JobKeeper during Q1FY21. Adds the deferral of the health insurance annual premium rise from 1st April 2020 to 1st October 2020 did result in an increase in demand during September. Trail commission cash flows continue to perform in line with expectations. Cash balance at the end of September $12.5m vs $10.5m at the end of June.

ECONOMIC DATA

In the last four weeks 31% of people with a job worked from home most days compared with 12% before March.

  • One in six people with a job (18%) did not have enough paid sick leave to take two weeks off.
  • A further one in three people with a job (33%) did not have access to paid sick leave.
  • In four weeks following the survey, three in ten Australians expected their usual spending to decrease for public transport (30%) and taxi and ride-sharing fees (29%). One in eight (12%) expected their spending on motor vehicle costs to increase.
  • Australians with a job reported that prior to the COVID-19 restrictions in March 2020:
  • 12% worked from home most days
  • 10% worked from home at least once a week
  • 6% worked from home at least once a month.

In the last four weeks, Australians currently with a job reported:

  • 31% worked from home most days
  • 9% worked from home at least once a week
  • 6% worked from home at least once in the month.

COVID – 19 NEWS

  • Johnson and Johnson has temporarily halted its CV19 vaccine trial due to an unexplained illness in one trial patient.
  • Singapore eases travel restrictions for Hong Kong visitors. South Korea added another 102 cases.
  • Trump tells rally he wants to ‘kiss everyone’.
  • Malaysia is set to impose curbs on movement in the capital Kuala Lumpur, the administrative capital Putrajaya, and in the states of Selangor and Sabah.
  • California is investigating whether it will re-opening theme parks.

BONDS

ASIAN NEWS

  • China’s exports rose for the fourth straight month in September while imports surged, pointing to further recovery in global trade and a robust domestic rebound.
  • Exports grew 9.9% in dollar terms in September from a year earlier, while imports rose 13.2%.
  • Hong Kong morning session cancelled on Typhoon. Afternoon in doubt.
  • Chinese domestic equities now worth US$10 trillion for the first time since 2015. The world’s second-largest stock market has added $3.3 trillion since a low in March.
  • The U.S. has the world’s most valuable stock market at US$38.3 trillion.

EUROPEAN AND US HEADLINES

  • Trump resumes campaign.
  • Volume in Apple options hits second-highest level of the year. Apple 5G to come.
  • Disney still arguing with California about reopening. Pivots towards streaming service.

And finally..

Clarence

A man walks into a bar and orders a drink. The bartender gives the man his drink and the man asks “If I show you something crazy, would let me have free drinks for the rest of the night?” The bartender thinks for a minute and then says “It would to be something spectacular to take that offer.” The man leans down and picks up a box and sets it on the bar. He opens the box and inside is a small piano man, who is only 1 foot tall, and a little piano.

The piano man starts playing classical music like Beethoven and Chopin. Once he finishes, the bartender is in utter disbelief. He tells the man “You can have free drinks for the rest of the night, but only if you tell where you got this.”

The man says “In the alley way behind your bar, there is a Genie who is granting free wishes to everyone who wants them.” Elated, the bartender heads behind his bar to see if it was true.

A few minutes pass and out of the alleyway erupts a cacophony of quacking. The bartender rushes back into the bar and shuts his door against a wave of thousands of ducks. He manages to secure the door and says to the man “I think that the Genie is hard of hearing, because after I asked for a million bucks, these ducks appeared by the thousands.”

The man chuckles and says “Did you really think I wished for a 12 inch pianist?”

XXX