ASX 200 closed up 45 points at 7329 (0.6%) as once again we saw the market bifurcate. Banks the machine again pushing ahead with the Big Bank Basket up to $174.37 (1.1%) with CBA and NAB leading the charge. MQG also doing well up 2.4% with fund managers in demand after  GQG FUM numbers sending the stock up 1.4%. Insurers a little better QBE down 0.8% as it went ex div. Industrials firmed as tech kicked again, WTC up 0.1% and XRO kicking hard for the surface up 3.8% with the All-Tech Index up %. Staples better, WOW up 1.3% with WES rallying 2.4%. Healthcare also good with bond yields coming off helping the REITs too. GMG up 2.1% and SGP 1.6% better. But once again the resources under a little pressure after Chinese GDP target fell short of expectations. BHP eked out a 0.1% rise with FMG in trouble down 2.5% and lithium stocks under pressure in places although LTR continuing to push ahead, up 5.5%. Rare earths in trouble following Musk comments last week and doubts over LYC WA plans, the stock falling 4.5%. Coal stocks on the nose too as Chinese coal miners ramp up production, WHC down a big 2.1% and SMR collapsing 4.4%. Gold miners down with NCM off 0.7% and NST falling 0.8% with oil and gas stocks easing back too, WDS down 1.5% and STO down 0.8%. In corporate news, BVS launched a company saving hail Mary capital raising. SGM sold its stake in LMS energy, CXO rallied 6.3% on a resource upgrade and MFG rose 2.3% after FUM once again fell. Nothing on the economic docket today ahead of the RBA meeting tomorrow. Asian markets slightly mixed with 10-year yields falling hard to 3.74%.

HEADLINES

  • Winners: BRN, 360, INR, LKE, CXO, LTR, SQ2, RMS
  • Losers: PPH, CDA, PNV, CBO, TIE, MGX, LYC
  • Positive sectors: REITs. Banks. Tech. Industrials. Healthcare.
  • Negative sectors: Iron ore. Coal. Oil and Gas. Gold miners.
  • High 7344 Low 7293 Narrow range.
  • Big Bank Basket: Good gains to $174.37 up 1.1%
  • All-Tech index: Up 1.6%
  • Gold higher to $2741
  • Bitcoin: Steady at US$22,389
  • Aussie Dollar: Steady at 67.65c
  • 10-Year Yield: Falls to 3.74%.
  • Asian markets: Asian markets mixed, Japan up 1.2%, China down 0.6% but HK up 0.1%
  • US Futures: Dow up 5 Nasdaq up 29

MAJOR MOVERS

  • BRN +16.67% Akida II coming.
  • 360 +10.65% tech bounce
  • LKE +6.61% finding friends.
  • CXO +6.25% resource upgrade.
  • WBT +% roadshow next week.
  • LTR +% still king of the jungle.
  • BRG +3.25% Livewire article.
  • MP1 +4.36% tech bounce.
  • PLY +15.00% change of director’s interest.
  • 5EA +11.32% Updated presentation.
  • MYR -2.79% sell off continues.
  • LYC -4.49% Tesla moves.
  • RHY -38.02% TGA submission withdrawn.
  • MGX -5.00% iron ore falls.
  • RFG -5.13% capital raising weighs.
  • NCK -3.24% ex dividend.
  • CBO -5.43% change of director’s interest.
  • Speculative Stock of the Day: Not huge volume but Roolife (RLG) +87.50% Remedy Drinks orders for Alibaba’s 300- high-tech Freshippo stores.
  • Above Average Volumes: RHY, TLG, FAR, RMY, EPN

COMPANY NEWS

  • GQG Partners Inc (GQG) – Reports a fall in FUM from $92bn in Jan to $90.8bn in Feb.
  • Magellan Financial Group (MFG) – experienced net outflows of $0.8bn from $46.2bn in Jan to $45.4n in Feb.
  • Cash Converters International Limited (CCV) – Announces the completion of a SPA for the acquisition of Capital Cash Ltd which is the largest franchise group in the UK.
  • Galan Lithium Limited (GLN) – Announces drilling has commenced at Greenbushes South Lithium Project in WA.
  • Sims Limited (SGM) to sell its 50% shareholding in LMS Energy Pty Ltd, Australia’s leader in biogas-to-energy and methane abatement from waste.
  • Arora Biosurgery Ltd (ARX) is awarded a group purchasing agreement for the regenerative skin grafting products category with Premier Inc effective March 1st 2023.
  • BrainChip Holdings (BRN) has launched the second generation of its Akida platform for AIoT solutions, which allows for expanded predictive intelligence, target tracking, object detection, and advanced vision capabilities, adding efficient 8-bit processing and temporal event-based neural nets.
  • Core Lithium (CXO) reports drilling completed at the ongoing Finniss Lithium operation, has lead to more than doubling the mineral resource estimate of Li2O2
  • Nickel Industries (NIC) Limited has agreed to revised terms for the Excelsior Nickel Cobalt project. The project is expected to have an annual production of 67,000 metric tons of contained nickel equivalent and will be capable of producing both nickel sulphate and nickel cathode, providing the company with significant operating flexibility.
  • Bravura Services (BVS) – will issue new shares at 40c each to help fund a big cost cuts program and buy some time for new CEO Libby Roy to execute a turnaround plan. The deal will see Bravura raise $80m via a one-for-1.73 entitlement offer and an institutional placement. The rights issue component was expected to be worth nearly $60m.

ECONOMICS & OTHER NEWS

  • The Reserve Bank is expected to lift the cash rate for the 10th consecutive time to a decade-high 3.6% on Tuesday
  • Benchmark Newcastle coal prices are down 3% to $US187.15 on Monday and have collapsed in half since January 5, 2023.
  • About 41% of the 158 companies on the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index that reported half-year results in February posted negative earnings surprises.

ASIAN MARKETS

  • Hokuriku Electric Power gained as much as 16% after a report from the nation’s regulator brought the company closer to restarting a nuclear reactor.
  • Arm, the British chip designer owned by Japan’s SoftBank, is likely to aim to raise at least $8 billion from what is expected to be a blockbuster U.S. stock market launch this year.

US AND EUROPEAN HEADLINES

  • BP insists it is not slowing green transition to cash in on high oil prices.
  • Iran agrees to reinstall IAEA cameras at nuclear facilities.
  • Zero-day-to-expiration options are not for the faint of heart, but they still exploded in popularity as of late. Daily notional volumes in these 0DTE options that track the S&P 500 index exploded to reach a record $1 trillion.
  • Three centuries of stock market advice distilled down to look for value, don’t pay too much in commissions, don’t over-trade, and don’t fall for fanciful stories.

And finally….

A little boy goes to his father and asks ‘Daddy, how was I born?’ 

The father answers, ‘Well, son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo.

Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room, and googled each other. There your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months later a little Pop-Up appeared that said:

You got male.

Clarence

XXXX

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