ASX closes off highs at 7636 up 32 points (+0.4%). Down 14 points for the week. Chip fever hit hard today with BRN, WBT and AXE all making extreme moves, Banks were firm yet again, NAB up 1.1% the best, and the Big Bank Basket up to $202.92 (+0.5%). MQG running 0.6% higher. Insurers firmed, QBE up 0.8%. GQG also firm up 1.4%. REITs better led by GMG up 0.4%, and SCG up another 0.7%. Healthcare better, RMD up 1.6% and COH gaining 1.0%. Industrials mixed, WES up 2.1% and ALL bouncing back 2.3%. WOW going nowhere, COL up 1.2%. Results in focus. Tech up unsurprisingly, WTC up 1.2% and XRO up 2.8%. The All Tech Index up 1.4%. Resources trying hard to find friends, iron ore miners better, FMG up 1.4% and BHP up 0.6%. MIN rose 2.3%, PLS rose slightly, gold miners saw selling as NEM outlined plans to sell some mines, NST down 2.2% and NEM off 8.1%. Oil and gas mixed, WDS sold down its Scarborough interest to JERA. In other corporate news, ABB showed TLS how it was done, rising 18.6% on results, SQ2 jumped 16.5% on results, JIN hit the jackpot up 9.0% on lotto boost. ASB sank 12.6% on results, LIC dropping 12.1% as it went ex-entitlement. Nothing on the economic front today. In Asia, Japan closed for the Emperor’s birthday. China flat, HK the same. 10-year yields drifting higher at 4.217%. Dow Futures up 46 points. NASDAQ Futures up 3 points.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Winners: ABB, SQ2, BRN, JIN, AEF, WBT, TAH
- Losers: ASB, LIC, LRS, DVP, NEM, AX1, A4N, IPG
- Positive sectors: Banks. Financials. Tech, Iron ore. Healthcare
- Negative sectors: Gold miners. Utilities. Uranium.
- ASX 200 Hi 7661 Lo 7624 ASX down 14 points for the week.
- Big Bank Basket: Rises to $202.92(0.5%).
- All-Tech Index: Up 1.4%.
- Gold: Eases to $3082
- Bitcoin: Lower at US$51285
- 10-year Slightly higher at 4.19%.
- AUD: Higher at 65.73c
- Asian markets: Japan closed China and HK flat.
- Dow Futures up 46 Nasdaq up 3
MAJOR MOVERS
- BRN +14.0% Akida chip.
- ABB +18.6% great results.
- SQ2 +16.5% results cheer.
- JIN +9.0% jackpot.
- WBT +7.7% chip fever.
- PWH +6.2% broker upgrades.
- AXE +35.4% quantum computing play. No news.
- PAA +26.7% kicks again after advisory council.
- TRS +6.8% bounce on broker research.
- HPG +7.3% kicks again.
- ASB -12.6% results sink share price.
- LRS -9.5% lithium weakness.
- NEM -8.1% to sell mines.
- AX1 -5.5% results disappoint.
- ARR -23.8% capital raise.
- SYA -8.7% Piedmont sell down weighs.
- Speculative Stock of the Day: WHK +100.0% Response to ASX query. Cyber Risk Radar contract.
COMPANY NEWS
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ECONOMIC AND OTHER HEADLINES
- Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said she would like to see more progress on inflation before beginning to cut interest rates.
- Intuitive Machines puts first private spacecraft on moon. Nicknamed ‘Odysseus’, reached the moon at 6:23 p.m. US East Coast time on Thursday. The US has returned after half a century.
- A $1.6bn uranium mining deal between France and Mongolia is running into political hurdles. France is looking to diversify away from Kazakhstan reliance.
- VinFast (Vietnamese EV maker) net losses in the final quarter of 2023 reached $650.1 million, also 1.3% higher than the same period of 2022.
- Japan closed today for Emperor’s Birthday.
- Google pauses AI image generation of people after diversity backlash.
- Reddit set to list on NYSE with ticker code RDDT. CEO makes US193m in pay in 2023.
- There are 10,000 private corporate jets in the USA.
- US considering 500 new sanctions for Russia.
And finally…..

No parent ever turned the car around.
It was an empty threat that we all fell for!!

Clarence
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