ASX 200 finished up 75 points at 8542 (0.9%) close but no cigar. CBA became the first $300bn market cap stock on the ASX. Not surprisingly a new record, the Big Bank Basket up another 1.3% to $282.44. WBC the best of the bunch, up 1.5% with MQG up 1.5% and GQG lifting 4.3%. REITs also firmed GMG up 0.7% on data centre demand. Retail stocks also in demand following lacklustre GDP numbers and hopes fro more rate cuts. LOV romped 9.1% higher as Mark McInnes joined as deputy chair. JBH up 2.1% and HVN up 3.0% with travel and fast-food stocks rallying too. Defensives sold down as WOL, COL and TLS fell slightly, tech gained a little, WTC up 1.1% and TNE up 1.4% with the All–Tech Index up 0.9%. In resources BHP up 1.0% with FMG rising 1.6% as iron ore found some strength in Singapore. Gold miners sold down, EVN down 2.7% with GMD off 2.8% and SPR losing 0.9%. Uranium stocks spurted higher on Meta moves in US to shore up nuclear power deals, Lithium also saw buyers return, PLS up 5.7% and LTR rising 6.1% with MIN doing well, up 9.2%. Oil and gas better with CRN sorting some liquidity issues out, up 38.1%. In corporate news, MYX was issued with the scheme termination notice falling 5.3%, IEL fell another 2.6% after the 48% loss yesterday, and PBH had an upgraded bid of 120c. On the economic front, GDP came in below expectation at 0.2%. Asian markets firmed, Japan up 0.8%, HK up 0.6% and China up 0.5% 10-year yields steady at 4.25%.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Winners: ZIP, DRO, PDN, MIN, LOV, SLX, IPX
  • Losers: RDX, NUF, BOT, BKW, WAF, KLS, FFM
  • Positive Sectors: Iron ore. Lithium. Uranium. Banks. Oil and gas.
  • Negative Sectors:  Gold miners.
  • ASX 200 Hi 8547 Lo 8470
  • Big Bank Basket: Higher at $282.44 (+1.3%). CBA at record.
  • All-Tech Index: Up 0.9%
  • Gold: Steady at $5194
  • Bitcoin: Steady at US$105,283
  • 10-year yield steady at 4.24%.
  • AUD: eases to 64.55c.
  • Asian markets: Japan up 0.9%, HK up 0.5% and China up 0.5%
  • Dow futures are down 26, and Nasdaq futures down 17

MARKET MOVERS

  • ZIP +13.6% solid bounce.
  • DRO +12.5% you know why!
  • MIN +9.2% bargain hunters.
  • SLX +8.9% Meta nuclear bump.
  • CAT +7.1% purring along
  • LTR +6.1% lithium bounce.
  • DTR +26.1% buyers step back in after fall yesterday.
  • ELS +25.7% another EU order.
  • PBH +10.6% bid adjusted higher.
  • SOL -3.0% BKW -4.4% profit taking.
  • FFM -3.7% miners slip.
  • RDX -9.8% no news.
  • MYX -5.3% finally the termination notice turns up.
  • NMG -5.9% gold miners under some pressure.
  • Speculative Stock of the Day: CRN +38.1% – Good volume on Oaktree liquidity deal.

ECONOMIC AND OTHER NEWS

  • GDP – The Australian economy rose 0.2% in seasonally adjusted chain volume measures. In nominal terms, GDP rose 1.4%. The terms of trade rose 0.1%. Household saving to income ratio rose to 5.2% from 3.9%.
  • Household spending climbed 0.4%, contributing 0.2 point to GDP growth. Spending on essentials like food and rent continued to be among the highest contributors to household spending growth, the ABS said.
  • Treasurer Jim Chalmers insists he’s “quite optimistic” about Australia’s future economy despite today’s flat GDP figures.
  • A deal between Labor and the Greens to pass the tax hike on superannuation balances above $3m is all but certain after the Coalition was sidelined.
  • Virgin launches long-awaited IPO.
  • Australians purchased more than 109,000 new vehicles during May, down from more than 111,000 during the same month in 2024.
  • US employment data will be released overnight and the Bank of Canada is expected to cut its benchmark by a quarter of one percentage point to 2.5%.
  • South Korea’s new president Lee says country faces ‘tangled web’ of crises.
  • Merz plans €46bn corporate tax breaks to revive German economy.
  • Iranians seek safety in gold from sanctions and military threats.
  • The number of high-net worth individuals across the globe rose to a record in 2024, driven largely by gains in the US stock market. 23.4m millionaires now. US added 562K.

And finally….

Clarence

XXXX