The ASX 200 shook off early losses as banks pushed ahead. The index closed down 2 points at 7800 (0.03%), with CBA hitting a record high! Up 4.2% The strength here has masked underlying index weakness.  Other banks trailed in its wake with the Big Bank Basket up to $260.87 (). Other financials were mixed, GQG up 2.9% with CGF also doing well, IFL dropped 4.3% on a broker downgrade, PNI fell 2.4% and XYZ off 5.5%. REITs also fell hard, GMG down 1.6% and CHC falling 1.2%. Industrials also fell with tech under serious pressure, WTC down 2.4% and the Index down 2.0%. Retail fell too, LOV off 1.6% and APE down 1.6%. Travel stocks fell, FLT off 4.1% and CTD falling 2.9%. In resources, gold miners were the stars again, NST up 3.0% and EVN pushing 4.9% ahead as copper hit a two-week high. GMD up 1.4% and OBM rose 3.0%. Lithium miners fell as CATL is pushing ahead with sodium-ion technology. Uranium stocks trounced as DYL paused its Namibian operations, falling 8.2% and PDN down 12.5%. Iron ore miners steady, despite the fall in iron ore in Singapore. In corporate news, MQG rose 0.6% as it sold is asset management business to Nomura. BGL fell 7.1% after more detail on its hedge book emerged. ILU and REE joined forces to bid for a Kenyan Rare earth project. Nothing on the economic front. Asian markets were better than expected with 10-year yields at 4.23%.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Winners: IPX, RSG, BRN, BC8, ADT, WAF, PNR
  • Losers: PDN, EBR, SLX, ZIP, CYL, BOE, BGL
  • Positive Sectors: Gold miners. CBA
  • Negative Sectors: Everything else.
  • ASX 200 Hi 7822 Lo 7745
  • Big Bank Basket: Rises to $260.87(+%) – CBA at record high.
  • All-Tech Index: Down 2.0%
  • Gold: Rises to $5408 (US$3477)
  • Bitcoin: Rises to US$87968
  • 10-year yield steady at 4.27%.
  • AUD: Up to 64.33c
  • Asian markets:  Japan down 0.1%, HK up 0.2% and China up 0.2%.
  • Dow futures up 128 Nasdaq up 68

MARKET MOVERS

  • CBA +4.2% at record high!
  • RSG +8.6% WAF +6.6% gold on fire.
  • ADT +6.9% silver joining the party.
  • IPX +9.3% keeps going higher.
  • EVN +4.9% copper and gold.
  • SBM +19.2% must be a boom for thi9s one to rise.
  • PDN -12.5% uranium under pressure as DYL pauses.
  • ZIP -9.0% change in substantial shareholding.
  • DYL -8.0% Namibian pause.
  • BOE -7.8% Uranium weakness.
  • MEI -19.2% falls back to earth.
  • ARR -12.7% profit taking.
  • NTU -7.5% profit taking.
  • Speculative Stock of the Day: None of any volume.

ECONOMIC AND OTHER NEWS

  • The US set new duties as high as 3,521% on solar imports from four Southeast Asian countries.
  • European markets set to open slightly weaker. US futures positive.
  • Iron ore prices slipped in Asian trade. Prices in Singapore fell 0.8 per cent to $US98.60 a tonne.
  • Copper reaches 2-week high. Gold powers ahead.
  • Harvard sues Trump administration over funding freeze.
  • Japanese investors sold $20bn of foreign debt as Trump tariffs shook markets.
  • Nomura to buy Macquarie asset management units in its biggest deal since Lehman.
  • China’s CATL says it has overtaken BYD on 5-minute EV charging time.
  • Google says DOJ’s proposal for breakup would harm U.S. in ‘global race with China’.

And finally…..

Clarence

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