Between the Bells

Yesterday we saw the Aussie market hit a 6-week high after rising for three days and lifting 0.8% - attempting to play catch up with global equities. Today, the futures are suggesting a small lift of 0.04%.

The IMF raised global growth forecasts from 5.2% to 6%. That’s the quickest growth rate since 1980. For Australia it sees our economy growing at 4.5%.

What to watch today

1. Today traders and investors will be focused on four areas: (1) Stocks benefitting from Australian NZ flights taking off 19 April - like Air New Zealand (ASX:AIZ) which rose 8% yesterday. (2) The Tech sector – Yesterday it saw its biggest gain in a long time, with Afterpay (ASX:APT) rising 10%, Zip (ASX:Z1P) rising 9% and Xero (ASX:XRO) rising 3.1% - as bond yields stabilised and the US tech sector is coming back. (3) Stocks that hit a 52-week high to see if they have more momentum. (4) Eco news – construction index for March – expected to show further growth, supporting earnings in construction and mortgages stocks and Services sector data due out today – expected to strengthen. 
2. Companies going ex-dividend today, including Adbri (ASX:ABC) as well as ETFs like IOZ, which is the top 200 ETF, and IGB which is a Bond ETF.  

Trading ideas:

• Bell Potter reiterated its Buy calls on two stocks overnight: Acrow Formwork & Construction (ASX:ACF) with a $0.45 target and Senex Energy (ASX:SXY) with a $3.71. 
• Super Retail Group (ASX:SUL), Redbubble (ASX:RBL) and Nickel Mines (ASX:NIC) are all giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

The Aussie market is eyeing a gain of 0.3% if you go by the futures - likely to extend its rally from Wednesday and Thursday – which will form a nice uptrend for the ASX200. 

What to watch today:

1. Economic recovery stocks – expected to gain momentum as GP clinics offering COVID-19 vaccines will double to 3,000 by this week with 4,000 clinics offering the vaccine by the end of April. 
2. Economic news to watch: ANZ job ads out for March and the RBA hold their first meeting of the month - rates to hold but the focus will on Australia’s economic recovery. 
3. Stocks that will do well following the trans-Tasman bubble announced later today. Keep an eye on Air New Zealand (ASX:AIZ) and Qantas (ASX:QAN).
4. ASX stocks exposed to the UK – and could benefit as the UK considers a vaccine passport. These include Link Administration (ASX:LNK) and UK Bank Virgin Money (ASX:VUK). 
5. Oil stocks will likely come under pressure after the Oil price fell 6% ahead of OPEC and its ally countries ramping up production from May to July.
6. Companies going ex-div today: Sigma Healthcare (ASX:SIG) and Perpetual Equity Investment Company (ASX:PIC). 
7. Most traded stocks at our active trader desk, Bell Direct Advantage: 88 Energy (ASX:88E), Red Sky Energy (ASX:ROG) & Brookside Energy (ASX:BRK).

Trading ideas:

• UBS upgraded South32 (ASX:S32) as a Buy while upping its price target to $3.20. 
• Bell Potter called out its key retail sales stocks to watch: City Chic (ASX:CCX), Dominos (ASX:DMP) and Accent (ASX:AX1). 
• Australian Finance Group (ASX:AFG), Sezzle (ASX:SZL) and Pinnacle Investment Management (ASX:PNI) are all giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central. 

We saw US equities rise on Wednesday, closing out the best month since November, as investors rotated back into tech while weighed down on Biden’s big infrastructure spending plan. Over the sea, European markets closed lower as Deliveroo tumbled on its debut, falling as much as 30% and euro zone inflation jumped to 1.3% in March from 0.9% in February.

What to watch today:

• The Aussie market looks set to start the month of April on a positive note, up 0.28%, ahead of the four-day Easter break.
• Australia’s import and export data are out today, as well as retail and home loan data. Both data points are out at 11:30am.
• Keep an eye on Aussie tech shares such as Xero (ASX:XRO) and Zip (ASX:Z1P) following US tech stocks surging higher overnight. 
• The Oil price fell 0.8% to US$63.66 per barrel off the back of concerns about the market’s recovery after OPEC and its allies lowered their 2021 demand growth forecast by 300,000 barrels per day. 
• The Gold price lifted about 1.3%, helped by the dollar’s pushback, but elevated US bond yields still puts the metal on course for its worst quarter in 4 years. 
• As for the most traded stocks yesterday from our active trader desk, Bell Direct Advantage they were: 88 Energy (ASX:88E), Houston We Have (ASX:HWH) and Oneview Healthcare (ASX:ONE).

Trading ideas:

• Bell Potter has upgraded its rating on Mayne Pharma (ASX:MYX) from a Hold to a Buy, and has increased its price target by 70% to $0.56 (previously $0.33). 
• Pointerra (ASX:3DP), Healthia (ASX:HLA) & Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY) are all giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central. 

The Aussie market is set to open higher, around 0.8%, which defies the losses that were seen over on Wall Street. 

Major tech shares were in the red after the 10-year Treasury yield reached its highest level since January 2020. Both Apple and Microsoft led the losses. They both fell about 1%. 

What to watch today:

1. Building permits for February are out today at 11:30am.  
2. The Oil price dipped 1.6% to US$60.55. This comes as the Suez Canal reopened to traffic and the dollar rallied. Focus in the market now shifts to a meeting between oil-producing nations where its expected that the supply curbs will be extended given dim demand prospects. 
3. The Gold price slipped nearly 2%. The firmer dollar, higher Treasury yields and hopes for a faster US economic recovery has dampened demand in the safe-haven asset. 
4. As for the most traded stocks yesterday from our active trader desk, Bell Direct Advantage they were: Byrah Resources (ASX:BYH), 88 Energy (ASX:88E), and Digital Wine Ventures (ASX:DW8).
5. Shares going ex-dividend today: Eagers Automotive (ASX:APE) and Harvey Norman (ASX:HVN). 

Trading ideas:

• Bell Potter maintains its Buy rating on Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) and price target for the stock at $21.50. Given the recovery profile of global travel remains in its early stages, and the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccinations programs is accelerating, Bell Potter believes FLT is highly leveraged to this step change and remains their key pick in the sector. 
• Bell Potter also has a Buy rating on AMA Group (ASX:AMA) however they have reduced its price target by about 11% to $0.85. This comes as the number of AMA job vacancy ads over the past weeks on sites such as Seek appear to be higher than usual, which suggest the company may be having some trouble sourcing qualified people. Despite this, Bell Potter sees good value in the current share price and the catalysts being a return to more normal operating conditions in FY22. 
• Noxopharm (ASX:NOX), Kina Securities (ASX:KSL) & Element 25 (ASX:E25) are all giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central. 

The Aussie market is eyeing a lift of 0.7% if you go by the futures. But the market will be mulling over travel and tourism stocks as Brisbane bunkers into a three day snap lockdown.

What to watch today:

1. Profit reshuffles ahead of the quarter ending tomorrow – expect profit taking in stocks that have had a good rally like banks, travel and tourism stocks. While tech stocks could rally as fund managers attempt to bring their portfolio and asset allocations back into line.  
2. AGL (ASX:AGL) announced it will split its business into two - one entity which it’s calling New AGL will create low carbon energy powering 30% of Australia’s households. The other entity PrimeCo will provide 20% of the nation’s energy into the grid via its thermal coal. 
3. Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) is due to pay out $1.50 per share in dividends today, that’s worth about $2.6 billion. Other large dividends getting paid out today are by Insurance Australia (ASX: IAG) and Northern Star (ASX:NST). 
4. Oil stocks will likely see a bit of price action today as Oil rose 1% ahead of an OPEC meeting, with production cuts expected - which supports the price of oil moving higher. 
5. As for other most traded stocks from yesterday at our active trader desk, Bell Direct Advantage they were: Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG), Golden Mile (ASX:G88) and West Wits Mining (ASX:WWI). 

Trading ideas:

• UBS upgraded online beauty retailer Adore Beauty Group (ASX:ABY) from a Hold to a Buy with a $6.20 target. ABY recently delivered a strong maiden result earnings (EBITDA) up 26%, which was ahead of UBS estimates.
• Car dealership company Eagers Automotive (ASX:APE) was also given a turnaround upgrade with Bell Potter moving it from a Hold to a Buy with a $15.50 target. Bell Potter sees APE’s earnings per share growing 10% thanks to the sale of its truck business. 
• Bell Potter upgraded tech athlete management business Catapult Group (ASX:CAT) from a Hold to a Buy, rising its target to $2.25.
• BetMakers Technology (ASX:BET), Secos Group (ASX:SES) and Pointsbet Holdings (ASX:PBH) are giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central. 

US stocks ended higher on Friday, with the benchmark index the S&P500 rising 1.7% to a record high, while Nasdaq ended up 1.2% as investors continue to chase stocks benefiting from the economy reopening. BHP and Rio Tinto listed in the US, both rose 3.9%, after the oil price rebounded, while the copper price jumped over 2%  back to it’s 10 year high neighbourhood, supported by better than expected economic growth numbers from the US last week.

What to watch today:

• Futures suggest a rise of 0.7% after the market rose 1.2% last week – its biggest gain in 5 weeks.
• Key economic data: building permits for February are released on Wednesday, Australian import and export data will be released on Thursday. Additionally on Thursday, retail and home loan data is set to be released.
• Stocks benefiting from the economic recovery in light of NSW and VIC restrictions have eased: Centuria Capital (ASX:CNI), Redcape Hotels (ASX:RDC), APN (ASX:ADI), Charter Hall Long WALE (ASX:CLW), Centuria Office REIT (ASX:COF)
• Oil stocks are likely to rebound as the oil price jumped 4% on Friday, following the Suez blockage.
• 88 Energy (ASX:88E) has been one of the most traded stocks over the past few weeks, and today it announced much awaited drill results from Alaska.
• The most traded stocks from our active trader desk, Bell Direct Advantage were: Digital Wine Ventures (ASX:DW8), Creso Pharm (ASX:CPH) and Airtasker (ASX:ART). 

The market put on its best weekly gain in five weeks as 300,000 Aussies got the jab and restrictions are set to ease in NSW and Victoria. Investors continue to reshuffle their portfolios, buying into economic growth stocks, whilst moving out of Tech.

In this week’s wrap, Jessica covers: 

• (0:29) Healthcare beating the market: CSL rises 6%
• (1:10) Why economic growth sectors are thriving as pandemic dust settles 
• (1:48) A look at the best performers this week: Crown Resorts (ASX:CWN) and Graincorp (ASX:GNC)
• (3:46) Three key areas to watch next week
• (4:25) How to find stocks that are kind to the earth
• (5:45) Bell Direct's ten most traded stocks this week

Bank stocks like JPMorgan Chase rose 1%, following an announcement by the Fed that big banks will be able to resume normal dividend payouts and share buy backs from 30 June. Citi, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs followed JPMorgan Chase’s rise. 

Economic News:

• Weekly unemployment claims fell to their lowest level in a year; jobless claims fell to 684,000 last week - far lower than forecast. 
• Economic growth rose 4.3%, beating the expected 4.1%. 
• The Dow Jones rose 0.6%, with Boeing outperforming rising 3.3%, American Express followed.
• The Nasdaq rose 0.1%.  – The standout was travel and restaurant booking site, Booking Holdings up 3% 

What to watch today: 

1. Futures suggest the Aussie share market will lift 0.3%. The ASX200 trades 1.3% higher this week, which is the market’s best gain in 5 weeks. 
2. As restrictions lift in NSW on Monday, Pub owner ALE (ASX:LEP), and Redcape Hotels (ASX:RDC), and Hotel Property Investments (ASX:HPI) are worth watching. 
3. Victorian restrictions ease tonight, keep an eye on Centuria office REIT (ASX:COF) and retailer Home Consortium (ASX:HMC) 
4. The cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal, in Egypt - a route that sees 12% of global cargo moving through it and 10% of the world’s oil supply.
5. Oil fell 4% on Europe demand concerns, as the EU is worried about the vaccine rollout amid increased restrictions. 
6. For our active trader desk, Bell Direct Advantage the most traded stocks were; Airtasker (ASX:ART), Renascor Resources (ASX:RNU), Oneview Healthcare (ASX:ONE)

Trading ideas:

• Bell Potter reiterated Aroa Biosurgery (ASX:ARX) as a speculative buy with a $2.00 target – for more on the new research head to our website. 
• Lastly – Pro Medicus (ASX:PME), Metcash (ASX:MTS), Big River Industries (ASX:BRI) could be worth a look as they’re giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central. 

The Aussie share market is likely to follow Wall Street lower – the futures are down 0.2%. 

As expected - portfolio adjustments continued to weigh on the US market; as investors ramp the switch away from 2020’s darling tech stocks, to stocks benefiting from life going back to the new normal.   

What to watch today:

• Stocks that should see a lot of love today. That is, oil and iron ore stocks. 
• Gold stocks should also see a bit of love, as Gold, the precious metal rose 0.4%. Keep an eye on Chalice Mining (ASX:CHN) a Bell Potter Buy that’s also in a bullish charting pattern. It also might be worth looking at Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR) as its chart suggests it could be ending its downtrend. 
• Keep an eye on some of the most traded stocks from yesterday. For our active trader desk, Bell Direct Advantage they were: Airtasker (ASX:ART) which rose 67% yesterday and Hawkstone Mining (ASX:HWK) which rose 8%.

Trading ideas:

• Bell Potter bumped up GrainCorp’s (ASX:GNC) Buy rating again, with a new $6.20 target. Yesterday GNC rose 6.2% to $5.00. And the chart says it’s about to potentially see a big rally with its 15-day moving average about to cross the 30-day. 
• Bapcor (ASX:BAP) also had a good upgrade from Citi as BAP expands into Asia following its 25% purchase of Asian equivalent, Tye Soon. Citi says BAP is a Buy with a $9.35 target, expecting South Korean and Malaysian sales to boost business.  
• MoneyMe (ASX:MME), GWA Group (ASX:GWA) and Eclipx (ASX:ECX) are all giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central. 

Given the pullback overseas, the Aussie market is likely to see a pull back, but the futures are suggesting a flat open at this stage. 

What to watch today:  

1. Airlines, travel and tourism stocks are expected to retreat from their buoyed levels. But keep in mind, Australia is in a different situation to overseas. Plus our government is offering half price airlines to some Aussie regions. This supports our services sector. 
2. Moving to commodities – expect scattered showers in some stocks today especially oil stocks.
3. Iron ore fines (the most traded iron ore) rebounded 3.1% to US$162 and the iron ore futures are up 0.5% suggesting iron ore prices are attempting to lift further 
4. Palladium rose 1% overnight - so keep an eye on Chalice (ASX:CHN), DevEx (ASX:DEV) and Linton Resources (ASX:LTR) 
5. Keep an eye on some of the most traded stocks from yesterday for our active trader desk, Bell Direct Advantage they were: Airtasker (ASX:ART) which rose 61% from its IPO price of $0.60, QEM (ASX:QEM) which rose over 6.5% and 88 Energy (ASX:88E) was the third most traded stock, falling 10%. 

Trading ideas:

• Citi reiterated Afterpay (ASX:APT) as high risk but, but downgraded its price target to $21. Citi expects the stock will be pressured over the next 3-6 months, expecting consumer discretionary to pull back from its high. Át the same time, Morgan Stanley recently reiterated APT as a Buy with a $159 target. 
• Bell Potter initiated coverage of Imricor Medical Systems (ASX:IMR) as a Speculative Buy with a $2.85 target. 
• Hearts and Minds Investments (ASX:HM1), Cettire (ASX:CTT) and Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG) are all giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.