ASX 200 unchanged at 7394. Shrugs off CV19 numbers but quiet trade ahead of a big week in the US.

• HIGH 7418 LOW 7389. Below average volumes

MAJOR MOVERS: Winners: LYC, AVZ, CCX, RBL, PDN and AWC Losers: SLR, MCR, A2M, DEG, CWN and WSA.

• POSITIVE SECTORS: Iron ore miners, Consumer staples, Insurers
• NEGATIVE SECTORS: Banks, healthcare, gold miners, tech
• BIG BANK BASKET: Down slightly at $177.37
• ALL -TECH INDEX: Down 0.5%
• GOLD: AUD $2458. Steady
  BITCOIN: US$38,337. Big rally
• AUD: Steady at 73.49c
• 10-YEAR YIELD 1.18% unchanged
• ASIAN MARKETS: Japan up 1.11% China down 2.62% Hong Kong down 3.56%
• US FUTURES: Down 166

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STOCKS ON THE MOVE

• LYC +10.58% good quarterly.
• RBL +5.88% masks back.
• CCX +6.65% acquisition cheers.
• SHV +4.48% almonds going nuts.
• A2M – 5.60%Appointment of chief people and culture officer.
• CWN -5.19% issues and more issues.
• WSA -4.76% becoming a substantial shareholder
• Z1P -4.09% shorts winning.
• AWC +5.25% alumina pricing.
• GRR +3.61% IO pricing.
• NXL -4.63% profit taking after recent run.
• 360 -2.32% profit taking.
• MCR -6.15% quarterly report.
• CAN -17.11% quarterly report.
• DW8 -7.32% quarterly report.
• SVY +18.75% thick zones of Cauley lodes.
• 4DX +7.33% conference presentation.
• AXE +17.58% rally continues.
• POS +7.69% hits a wall.
• CGS +10.76% recent presentation draws buyers.
• AGY +4.00% Rincon update.
• IPO of the Day: Best and Less (BST) +11.11% successful debut and beats prospectus forecast.
• Speculative Stock of the Day: Conico (CNJ) +67.65% – First Ryberg hole hits significant sulphide mineralisation from 78.24m to 133.12m.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• GPT Group (GPT) -2.74% Withdraws FY21 FFO and distribution guidance due to impact from COVID outbreak measures in Sydney and Melbourne.
• City Chic Collective (CCX) +6.65% Acquires online retailer, Navabi for €6m in cash. FY21 unaudited revenue $258m, +32.9% vs year ago. Underlying EBITDA $42.0-42.5m, +58-60% vs year ago. Notes trading in FY22 to date has exceeded budget expectations with strong US and UK performance outweighing the impact of temporary store closures due to lockdowns in Australia.
• Cromwell Property Group (CMW) -0.57% Appoints Jonathan Callaghan as CEO.
• Bank of Queensland (BOQ) – Releases APRA Basel III Pillar 3 report. At the end of May common equity tier 1 capital ratio was 14.1% vs 10.0% at the end of February.
• Lynas Rare Earths (LYC) +10.58% Q4 NdPr production 1,393t vs quarter-ago 1,359t. Total REO production 3,778t vs quarter-ago 4,463t. Revenue $185.9m vs quarter-ago $110m. Average selling price $39.1/kg vs quarter-ago $35.5/kg. Lynas 2025 Project: Commencement of preliminary site works and final Environmental Review Document submitted to the EPA for Kalgoorlie Project. Phase 1 detailed engineering and design work for the Heavy Rare Earths facility submitted to the US Government.
• Boral (BLD) – Sells its Australian timber business to Allied Natural Wood Enterprises for $64.5m.
• Betmakers Technology Group (BET) -1.08% June quarter receipts from customers $8.9m up 71% from a quarter ago to be up 272% vs last year. Cash and cash equivalents of $120.6m. No mention of the TAH bid. CEO Todd Buckingham said: “We have seen an impressive uplift on our strong base of domestic operations while also capturing growth in global markets.”

IN THE NEWS

• Ariarne Titmus wins gold.
• Gilmore gone.
• Seven Plus gets record streaming.
• CBA widely expected to announce a $5bn buyback. (August 11^th)
• RIO expected to unveil a monster US462c dividend this week.
• Federal Labour dumps negative gearing and CGT limits.

ECONOMIC NEWS/ BOND MARKETS

• NAB has raised its Sydney home price forecast by 7% to 21.6% this year. The bank also upgraded its expectations for other capitals, with Melbourne prices now projected to grow by 17.6%. In 2022, NAB expected prices to grow by 3.1% in Sydney, 3.5% in Melbourne, 4.4% in Brisbane, 3.4% in Adelaide, 3.9% in Perth and 4.3% in Hobart.
• Ariarne Titmus wins gold.

CV19 NEWS

• Sydney cases 145 cases. Rules to be tightened.
• The current lockdowns will subtract 2.4% from the national economy in the September quarter according to Goldman Sachs.
• Greg Hunt has said vaccines are on their way by the end of the year. Trouble is, it’s only July!
• Indonesia is extending its mobility curbs for another week until Aug. 2.
• Thailand reported 15,376 new infections on Monday, the highest single-day increase since the pandemic began.

ASIAN MARKETS

• Chinese stocks are back on the nose as education stocks are now in the spotlight. New Oriental Education and Tech Group fell another 40% in HK. Koolearn Tech fell 35%. New regulations ban firms that teach school curriculums from making profits, raising capital or going public.

• Tokyo Olympics has another 16 cases, including 3 athletes.
• Chinese US talks kick off with mud-slinging. U.S. attempting to suppress Asian nation, Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said. Good start.

US AND EUROPEAN NEWS

• European markets are expected to open modestly lower.
• A UK company called ‘Coinburp’ has been warned by the FCA that it is not authorised yet.
• CS settles its spying case out of court.
• UK could remove China’s CGN from its nuclear power projects.
• Man Group chief says crypto has no value but fun to trade.
• Protests across Europe on vaccination cards and health passes.
• Philip Morris to stop selling Marlboro in UK within 10 years.

And finally….

Finding a woman sobbing that she had locked her keys in her car, a passing soldier assures her that he can help.

She looks on amazed as he removes his trousers, rolls them into a tight ball and rubs them against the car door.

Magically it opens.

“That’s so clever,” the woman gasps. “How did you do it?” “Easy,” replies the soldier, “These are my khakis”

Avoid the F1 just past Gosford at the moment, a truck with a load of snooker equipment has overturned and there are queues in both directions

Clarence

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