Tags

, , , ,

ASX 200 fought back from large losses to close down only 43 points at 7670 (-0.6%). ASX 200 off 2.2% for the week. Weakness across the board from the outset, but bargain hunting took over in the afternoon. Banks found some buyers as the day wore on. CBA down 0.6% and WBC down 1.1%, with the Big Bank Basket at $204.23 (-0.3%). MQG rose 0.2%, with insurers slightly lower, SUN off 0.5%. REITs in demand, SCG up 1.5%, SGP up 2.3% with TLS also doing well, up 1.1%. Supermarkets found some defensive buyers, WES down 0.3%, with WOW unchanged. Tech eased, XRO off 0.6% but WTC fell 2.2%, and the All–Tech Index dropped 1.2%. In resources, big trouble again in little China, with iron ore continuing to fall and no reprieve from copper for BHP and RIO down around 1.5% -2%. FMG off 2.3%. Lithium stock selectively crunched, PLS down 6.2% as the shorts pummelled the stock, MIN down 2.7% and IGO off 5.1%. Gold miners are also weaker, with some end-of-week profit-taking and bullion weakness. Oil and gas stocks finally woke up, with WDS up 2.5% and STO up 2.4%. In corporate news, IRE rose 1.4% on the sale of a UK business, and TAH fell 5.2% after the CEO fell on his sword over inappropriate comments. EML up 11.5% on the sale of one of its businesses in the UK. No economic news, but China kept its key policy rate unchanged. Asian markets slid lower on Chinese news. 10Y yields hit 4.15%. Dow Futures down 36 points. NASDAQ Futures down 44 points. 

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Winners: A4N, STX, QAL, VSL, TLX, CNI, ZIP
  • Losers: FCL, EMR, ARU, LTR, LTM, WGX, PLS
  • Positive sectors: Oil and gas. REITs
  • Negative sectors: Iron ore. Lithium. Gold miners. Tech.
  • ASX 200 Hi 7696 Lo 7591
  • Big Bank Basket: Falls to $204.23 (0.3%)
  • All-Tech Index:  Down 1.2%
  • Gold: Steady at $3297.
  • Bitcoin: Big fall to US$68221.
  • 10-year Higher at 4.13%
  • AUD: Lower at 65.63c
  • Asian markets:  Japan down 0.3%, HK down 2% and China off 0.5%
  • Dow Futures down 36 Nasdaq futures down 44 points.

MAJOR MOVERS

  • TLX +4.7% buyers back.
  • WC8 +% Tabba Tabba push.
  • ZIP +2.1% bulls bounce back.
  • DYL +2.2% first tranche done.
  • STX +6.1% finding friends.
  • A4N +7.5% kicks again.
  • EML +11.5% sells Sentenial Business.
  • AIS +10.7% copper play.
  • FDV +8.4% more to come perhaps.
  • XAM +27.9% MT write-up as speculative buy this morning.
  • SYR -19.9% capital raise.
  • ARU -9.6% profit taking.
  • LTR -8.4% half-yearly report.
  • LTM -7.4% PLS -6.2% lithium under pressure.
  • Speculative Stock of the Day: 5GG +80% Deal with Nvidia on cloud gaming. Good volume too.

COMPANY NEWS

ECONOMIC AND OTHER HEADLINES

  • PBOC keeps MLF rate steady at 2.5% ahead of Fed pivot.
  • China drained cash from the banking system with a medium-term liquidity tool for the first time since November 2022.
  • China’s home prices continued to fall in February. New-home prices in 70 cities, excluding state-subsidised housing, fell 1.9% from a year earlier, steeper than January’s 1.2% drop.
  • Nippon Steel defends US deal.
  • ByteDance’s US investors weigh options as bill to ban TikTok advances.
  • Steven Mnuchin throws his hat in the ring to buy TikTok. Says he understands the technology. Yeah, right. Me too.
  • TikTok currently has 1bn monthly active users worldwide. It has been downloaded over 3bn times since its launch in 2016.
  • In 2023, ByteDance was valued at about $200bn. The majority of content creators on TikTok are between 18 and 24 years ol age.
  • Americans set to spend US$22bn on Easter gifts.

And finally….

Clarence

XXXX