ASX 200 down 8 to 7527.

• HIGH 7527 LOW 7464 GDP helps recovery.

ASX 200 closes down 8 to 7527 (0.1%) after a solid recovery as GDP numbers cheered. Up 0.7% above forecasts. Banks better with Big Bank Basket up to $183.43 as leverage to GDP. Healthcare not so rosy led down by CSL off 0.9% and RMD down 1.3%. Industrials were mixed, DMP down 2.7%, WES off 3.3% as it traded ex dividend. EDV down 3.6% and REH slipping 4.4%. Big iron ore miners were easier after commodity falls, BHP down 1.3% and FMG dropping 3.2%. Gold miners slightly better and energy up ahead of OPEC plus. In corporate news, all was relatively quiet after reporting season, KNI rose another 18.8% on a CEO appointment. DDR rose 5.4% after the founder explained his fast car habit. IMU fell 3.6% on three new trials flagged. On the economic front, the CoreLogic home value index rose by 1.5% in August to be up 18.4% over the year. The change marked the slowest monthly lift since January. PMI data for August eased but still signalled expansion activity in the Manufacturing sector.

MAJOR MOVERS:

Winners: PDN MYX YAL BBT NVX CXL NXL DDR

Losers: BKL MGX ASM MSB TPW MAQ PNV ECX.

• POSITIVE SECTORS: Banks. Telcos.
• NEGATIVE SECTORS: Iron ore miners. Consumer stocks. Healthcare.
• BIG BANK BASKET: Rises to $183.43
• ALL -TECH INDEX: Flat APT down 1.0%.
• GOLD: Unchanged at AUD2481.
• BITCOIN: Steady at US$47268.
• AUD: Rises to 73.26c. 10-YEAR YIELD: Jumps to 1.24%
• ASIAN MARKETS: Tokyo up 1.0% Hong Kong up 0.5%, China up 1.4%.
• US FUTURES: Dow futures up 118 NASDAQ up 50 – European Futures up 0.5%

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STOCKS ON THE MOVE

• DDR +5.43% founder/director still owns 58m shares.
• BBT +6.37% PBH +2.31% call on licencing helps.
• DEG +5.00% good drill results.
• AWC +4.49% aluminium price hits a decade high.
• NXL +5.51% rare bounce.
• RMC +2.47% positive broker comments on good numbers.
• BKL -6.66% profit taking. Devil of a number.
• MGX -6.56% iron ore price falls and ex dividend.
• MSB -5.71% slide continues post results.
• AEF -4.40% ex dividend and some.
• RZI -13.13% boardroom issues surface.
• DCN -6.25% broker downgrades.
• VMY +22.45% bargain hunters step back in after C-Suite change.
• KNI +18.75% still crazy after all these years and a new CEO announced.
• BCB +6.67% infrastructure deal with Fitzroy.
• PDN +15.69% uranium back on the hit list.
• Speculative Stock of the Day: Another day of craziness from PAM which was highlighted yesterday. Up another 53.03%. Every man and his dog jumping on board. Thai version of VUL they say. High of 66.5c Low of 32c.

ANNOUNCEMENT

• BHP Group (BHP) -1.27% Acknowledges Wyoo’s non-binding proposal to acquire Noront. BHP adds its offer of C$0.55 is currently the only transaction available to Noront shareholders as Wyoo’s does not constitute a formal offer. BHP Western Mining continues to stand behind the BHP Offer, which continues to have the support and recommendation of the board of Noront.
• Dacian Gold (DCN) -6.25% Full-year profit -$7.5m vs consensus $9.1m. Revenue $241.6m vs consensus $244.7m. EBITDA $58.9m vs consensus $80.6m.
• Ampol (ALD) +1.74% There is speculation that Ampol may be interested in Meridian Energy’s $1bn Australian renewable energy businessas it looks to bring the Ampol brand into other sectors. ALD recently cited its focus remained on future energy and decarbonisation. TLS, AGL and ORG were also named as potential candidates.
• PointsBet (PBH) +2.31% CEO says the company still hopes to secure sports betting license in Arizona.Management added that it has also applied for a licence in New York in a consortium with four casinos – Rush Street, WynnBet, Caesars and Resorts World.
• Cooper Energy (COE) -2.22% Appoints David Di Blasio as Acting CFO while the search for a replacement CFO is underway. Di Blasio joined Cooper Energy in 2019 as Finance Manager and has managed all aspects of the finance function.
• Dexus Property Group (DXS) -0.28% CFO Alison Harrop to step down at the end of September.Keir Barnes will be appointed as CFO, on October 1.
• Metcash (MTS) -2.45% Group trading continues to be strong in all pillars and well above pre-COVID levels in FY20. Supermarkets sales +12.9% vs the same period in FY20, and were +17.2% higher excluding the impact of Drakes. Compared with the same period in FY21, supermarkets sales were 1.8% lower. Total Food sales +3.1% vs the same period in FY20 and were +16.0% higher excluding the impact of Drakes and 7-Eleven. Compared with the same period in FY21, total Food sales were down 7.4%, and 1.4% excluding the impact of 7-Eleven.

ECONOMIC NEWS/ BOND MARKETS

• Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says border bubble arrangements with NSW are to be tightened and has agreed that under current caseloads, the NSW border will not be reopened until next year. He has opened playgrounds though.

• Big leap on 10-year yields on GDP number beat.

ECONOMIC DATA

• Surprise jump in GDP – June quarter relatively unaffected by CV19, with just 7% of the population locked down on any given day across the period. September quarter could see GDP fall by 4% as the whole period has been in Lockdown in Sydney at least.

• GDP for the June quarter 2021 rose 0.7%, beating market estimates of 0.4% to be up 9.6% on a year ago. Head of National Accounts at the ABS, Michael Smedes said: “Domestic demand drove growth of 0.7 per cent this quarter which saw continued growth across household spending, private investment and public sector expenditure. Lockdowns had minimal impact on domestic demand, with fewer lockdown days and the prolonged stay at home orders in NSW only commencing later in the quarter”.
• The CoreLogic home value index rose by 1.5% in August to be up 18.4% over the year. The change marked the slowest monthly lift since January.

• The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index posted 52.0 in August, down from 56.9 in July, marking the fifteenth consecutive month of expansion.
• The Ai Group Performance of Manufacturing index fell from 60.8 to a 10-month low of 51.6 in August. The ‘final’ IHS Markit Manufacturing PMI eased from 56.9 to 52.0 in August.

CV19 NEWS

• The Philippines will have enough Covid-19 shots by October to open inoculations for general population, including vulnerable children.
• A Bloomberg survey of 45 large firms shows that 84% plan to spend less on travel after the pandemic. It seems that business still got done without expensive trips and so budgets may be cut drastically.
• Vaccine Tracker: 274,581 doses in Australia on average. 2 more months to reach 75% of the population.

ASIAN MARKETS

• China has reopened its border to Mongolian coal. It has been closed for some time to help curb the spread of CV19.

US AND EUROPEAN NEWS

• European markets opening mildly positive. 
• German retails sales in July – 5.1% v  + 4.4% in June, huge miss.
• Cathie Wood is set to launch a new ESG style ETF. It will exclude alcohol, gambling, oil and banking. All the scandals and the vice. I love it.
• Biden claims Afghan exit ‘couldn’t have been more orderly’.
• The trial of Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos) begins in California.
• Taliban expected to unveil its new government in the coming days.

And finally…..

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