Between the Bells

The ASX200 is eyeing a lift of 0.3% at the open.

The World Health Organisation said global daily COVID-19 have now dropped for 5 straight weeks, and US cases are at their lowest level since October.

Frontline health workers and those in aged care will be the first to receive one of the 162,000 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines that arrived in Australia yesterday, a part of the 20 million doses Australia ordered.

The RBA minutes will be released today.

Companies reporting:

• NAB (ASX:NAB) reported quarterly earnings rose 1% to $1.65 billion and unaudited statutory net profit hit $1.7 billion in the December quarter.
• Breville (ASX:BRG) announced its half year net profit jumped 29% in the half year, supported by strong revenue growth from the shift to working from home (WFH).
• Adairs (ASX:ADH) half year profit skyrocketed 233% to $43.9m benefiting from WFH, what’s key is online sales now contribute about 40% of group sales.

Local trading ideas:

• UBS upgraded Altium (ASX:ALU) from a hold to a buy with a $34.00 target.
• Incitec Pivot (ASX:IPL) was upgraded by UBS with a new $2.85 target.
• Accent Group (ASX:AX1), ReadCloud (ASX:RCL) and Nickel Mines (ASX:NIC) are giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

Aussie shares are likely to lift 0.6% to kick off the week, hopefully erasing Friday’s 0.6% fall. 

80,000 Pfizer vaccine doses arrive in Australia this week to be stored at -70 degrees with DHL ready to despatch. 

What to watch today:

• In the wake of restrictions, we could see further earnings squeezes in travel stocks like Transurban Group (ASX:TCL), Webjet (ASX:WEB), Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) and Qantas (ASX:QAN).
• Crown Resorts (ASX:CWN) shares look likely to continue their slide.
• Company results today: JB Hi FI (ASX:JBH), Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (ASX:BEN), Aurizon Holdings (ASX:AZJ), Cooper Energy (ASX:COE), Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) and QBE Insurance (ASX:QBE).
• Keep an eye on some of the most traded stocks from Friday including: Ioupay (ASX:IOU) which rose 158%, BARD1 Life Sciences (ASX:BD1) which rose 177% and Douugh (ASX:DOU) which gained 47%.
• Economic front: New home sales out today and unemployment figures are out on Thursday.

Trading ideas:

• Citi reiterated Baby Bunting (ASX:BBN) as a buy. BBN’s new target is $6.22
• Mirvac (ASX:MGR) was reiterated as a buy by UBS albeit with a slimmer $2.76 target following its results. 
• Hansen Technologies (ASX:HSN), Evolve Education (ASX:EVO) and RPMGlobal Holdings (ASX:RUL) are all giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

The Aussie share market hit a brand new 12-month high. With 65% of reported companies smashing expectations, and the market remaining in a technical breakout, it seems the bullish flag is continuing to be raised. However, there's still plenty to be across this reporting season.

In this week’s wrap, Jessica covers:
- (0:26​) The technical and fundamental trends supporting share market growth
- (1:07​) Zip (ASX:Z1P) outperforms the market, rising 24% (Mon-Thu)
- (2:10​) Gold glistening: four noteworthy stocks to consider
- (2:35​) Iron ore continuing to deliver the goods
- (3:24​) Bank profits recovering but dividends disappointing
- (4:00​) A promising trend emerging

The ASX200 is eyeing a flat open.

Companies reporting results:

• Mirvac Group (ASX:MGR) reported a 36% drop in attributed half-year profit to $351.5 million.
• Arena REIT (ASX:ARF) reported its net profit rose 45%.
• Baby Bunting (ASX:BBN) reported its net profit rose 55% in the year but didn’t give future guidance amid COVID-19 uncertainty.
• Genworth Mortgage Insurance (ASX:GMA) results revealed an annual loss of $107.6 million and it declared it won’t pay a final dividend.

Yesterday’s top traded stocks:

• Zip (ASX:Z1P), Rent.com.au (ASX:RNT), Renascor Resources (ASX:RNU) and Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG).

Local trading ideas:

• GrainCorp Ltd (ASX:GNC) was upgraded by Bell Potter following its better than expected trading update.
• AMP (ASX:AMP) was upgraded to a Bell Potter buy with a $2.25 price target.
• VRX Silica (ASX:VRX), Whispir (ASX:WSP) and Kathmandu Holdings (ASX:KMD) are giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

The ASX200 is eyeing a fall of 0.5% at the open.

The Head of the Reserve Bank in the US assured Americans that interest rates will stay low until employment rates return to normal levels.

Companies reporting results:

• Telstra (ASX:TLS) reported net profit after tax (NPAT) of $1.1 billion, which exceeded the expectation of $849 million.
• AMP (ASX:AMP) reported full year statutory NPAT of $177 million, reversing the $2.5 billion loss in FY19.

Yesterday’s most traded stocks:

• Large caps: Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG), InvoCare (ASX:IVC) and Suncorp (ASX:SUN).
• Small caps: BlackEarth Minerals (ASX:BEM).

Local trading ideas:

• Praemium (ASX:PPS) was reiterated as a buy by Bell Potter with new $1.01 target.
• Australian Strategic Materials (ASX:ASM), Resimac Group (ASX:RMC) and Charter Hall Group (ASX:CHC) are giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

The ASX200 is eyeing a lift of 0.1% at the open.

Companies reporting today:

• Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA), Insurance Australia Group (ASX:IAG), CIMIC (ASX:CIM), Megaport (ASX:MP1), Centuria (ASX:CNI) and Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN).

Yesterday’s most traded stocks:

• Large caps: Zip (ASX:Z1P), ANZ Bank (ASX:ANZ) and Amcor (ASX:AMC) which all lost over 1% yesterday.
• Small caps: Reedy Lagoon (ASX:RLC) rose 176%, Flexiroam (ASX:FRX) fell 28% and Stemcell (ASX:SCU) rose 30%.

Local trading ideas:

• Macquarie expects Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG) shares to rally up to $26.50.
• Alcidion (ASX:ALC) was initiated as a buy by Bell Potter with a $0.28 target. Alcidion tech is already being used by Queensland Health and in Scotland.
• Sealink (ASX:SLK), Infomedia (ASX:IFM) and MNF Group (ASX:MNF) are giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

The ASX200 is eyeing a fall of 0.2% at the open ahead of some property businesses reporting results on the effect of reduced rent and vacancies due to COVID-19.

Keep an eye on some of the most traded stocks from yesterday:

• Zip (ASX:Z1P) rose 13% and is suggested to rally again. Rent.com.au (ASX:RNT) gained 24% yesterday and early orders suggest another rally could be on the cards. Flexiroam (ASX:FRX) rose 95% yesterday.

Companies reporting today:

• Dexus (ASX:DXS), Shopping Centres Australasia (ASX:SCP), James Hardie (ASX:JHX), Boral (ASX:BLD), Emeco (ASX:EHL), Challenger (ASX:CGF) and Suncorp (ASX:SUN).

Local trading ideas:

• IMDEX (ASX:IMD) was upgraded by Bell Potter following its better than expected earnings results handed down yesterday. IMD is a Bell Potter buy with an increased price target of $2.20.
• Citi reiterated Elders (ASX:ELD) as a buy with a $13 target.
• Super Retail Group (ASX:SUL), BSA (ASX:BSA) and Andromeda Metals (ASX:AND) are giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

The ASX200 is eyeing a lift of 0.1% at the open.

The US unemployment rate fell to 6.3% in January, this was better than the projected 6.7% as Americans continue to head back to work. The US Democrats moved forward in the process of passing a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill without Republican votes.

Imdex (ASX:IMD) and Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX:CLW) report results today.

Local trading ideas:

• UBS marked Cochlear (ASX:COH) as a sell, forecasting revenue and sales to decline in the half year.
• Bell Potter increased Cyclopharm’s (ASX:CYC) speculative buy rating with a new price target of $3.40.
• Immutep (ASX:IMM) had its speculative buy rating upgraded with a new $0.65 target by Bell Potter.
• Andromeda Metals (ASX:AND), Reckon (ASX:RKN) and Kingston Resources (ASX:KSN) are giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

 The market hit a 12-month high this week, rising 3% (Mon-Fri 10:30am) - that's the ASX200's best gain in 13-weeks. In keeping with tradition, better than expected company news, earnings results, and economic stimulus have driven this surge. But with a marked increase in retail investor trading in small and mid-sized companies, caution is advised...

In this week’s wrap, Jessica covers:

• (0:22) The soaring market. All sectors doing well except Utilities
• (0:55) Credit Corp (ASX:CCP) rising 18%, after a good report card
• (1:27) Home loans reaching record highs in December
• (2:03) What'll be hot next week - key earnings results
• (3:00) Two oil stocks to watch
• (4:08) Where to be cautious amongst the retail investor buying frenzy

The ASX200 is eyeing a rise of 1% at the open.

Unemployment claims fell to 779,000 last week, less than the 830,000 claims expected.

What to watch today:

• Companies reporting: News Corp (ASX:NWS) and REA Group (ASX:REA).
• Charter Hall (ASX:CHC) holds it AGM.
• Keep an eye on lithium companies given the hype from Wall Street. Australia’s Energy Minister Angus Taylor is also encouraging the government to think about how electrical vehicles could be charged without compromising the grid. This will help the Aussie Government meet the goal of zero emissions by 2050. Some companies to keep an eye on are Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY), Orocobre (ASX:ORE) and Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS).

Local trading ideas:

• Bell Potter raised Afterpay's (ASX:APT) price target to $168.50.
• Centuria Capital (ASX:CNI), GWA Group (ASX:GWA) and Baby Bunting (ASX:BBN) are giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.