The ASX 200 consolidated Friday’s gains with a loss of 2 point to 8729. Tech stocks were the star attraction, with REA up 1.5%, WTC up 8.7% and XRO rising 7.6%. The All-Tech Index rose 3.8%. Healthcare remains on the nose, with CSL dropping another 2.5% and RMD pummelled down 7.6%. REITs also slid, with CHC off % and SCG falling %. Banks were mixed, with CBA down 1.0% and WBC up 0.4%, leaving the Big Bank Basket down to $271.87 (-0.6%). Financials were mostly better, with ZIP rallying 5.2% as tech took off. Industrials were a mixed bag. TCL fell 1.8% and LNW dropped 1.0%, while BXB rallied 1.4% and CPU rose 0.9%.

In resources, BHP was slightly firmer, RIO rose 1.6% and FMG improved. Gold miners were generally better, with EVN up 2.4% and CMM rallying 1.3%. Lithium stocks were on a charge, with PLS up 4.3% after huge rebalancing volumes last week, LTR up 3.3% and MIN up 1.2%. WDS and STO both made modest gains, as did uranium and coal stocks.

In corporate news, LLC lost 5.5% after agreeing to sell the development rights in the Milano Santa Giulia mixed-use project in Milan. SYR soared 16.2% after its offtake dispute with Tesla was resolved, with the electric vehicle maker accepting that the alleged default conditions had been cured. MYX fell 2.9% as it expanded its US commercial footprint. CTT rose 25.5% as it moved to expand its presence in China through the launch of a flagship store on Tmall Global.

On the economic front, ANZ-Indeed Australian job ads lifted 1.8%. Asian markets eased. Japan up 0.9%, HK up 0.8% and China down 0.6%. Korea up 4.1%.

US futures up slightly, Dow up 49 and Nasdaq up 175. European markets set to open flat. Oil up 2%

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Winners: SDR, CAT, PME, A4N, WTC, OCL, CXO, XRO
  • Losers: BRE, DRO, RMD, GWA, EQR, KLS, SRL
  • Positive Sectors: Tech. Gold miners. Lithium.
  • Negative Sectors: Banks. Healthcare.
  • ASX 200 Hi 8737 Lo 8697 Narrow range.  
  • Big Bank Basket: Lower at $271.87 (-0.6%)
  • All-Tech Index: Up 3.8%
  • Gold: Slips to $6287
  • Bitcoin: Steady at US$73231
  • 10-year yields: Rises to 4.89%
  • AUD: Better at 71.87c.

MARKET MOVERS

  • SDR +10.9% good move higher.
  • CAT +10.1% doing well on tech bounce.
  • WTC +8.7% tech bounce.
  • PME +9.2% new order.
  • CXO +8.5% lithium stock.
  • XRO +7.7% LW article.
  • EOS +6.3% sold too soon.
  • GNP +5.4% looking interesting.
  • RDY +21.6% NBIO at 200c.
  • AXE +11.4% a quantum of solace.
  • KMD +12.1% bounce continues.
  • PLY -34.0% Meta pulls pin.
  • DRO -8.6% first strike and downgraded.
  • RMD -7.6% snoring away.
  • JDO -5.1% chopped.
  • Yesterday’s Hero: CTT +25.5% news of a China push helping it move higher.  
  • Speculative Stock of the Day:  VMC +37.2% royalty sale.

ECONOMIC AND OTHER NEWS

  • ANZ-Indeed Australian job ads lifted 1.8% month-on-month in May, following a 3.7% fall over the prior two months.
  • Job advertisements remain 2% higher year-on-year, once seasonally adjusted, and 15.1% above the 2010 to 2019 average.
  • Australian home prices stagnated last month, with growth weakening across most major cities as higher borrowing costs and tax reforms sapped demand.
  • Sydney and Melbourne led the downturn with declines of 0.9% and 0.8% respectively in May, while Perth and Darwin outperformed with increases of 1.5% each.
  • Japan’s biggest companies reduced capital spending in the first quarter even as ordinary profits at manufacturers reached a record.
  • Japanese yields are the highest in 40 years.
  • China’s factory activity beats forecasts in May, private survey shows, despite softer official data.
  • Former US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank would lose the credibility that is required to support a strong and stable economy if any president were free to dismiss Fed officials over policy disagreements.
  • Nvidia, which has dominated the market for AI chips in data centres, is pushing into PCs with a new processor called N1X on a new RTX Spark superchip. It will debut on laptop models from Microsoft, Dell, HP, ASUS, Lenovo and MSI.

And finally……

Scientists have successfully recreated human vocal cords in a lab. The results speak for themselves.

Clarence

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