Market Updates

The ASX 200 has closed down 62 points (-0.8%) to 7734. The morning sell-off in Energy, Health Care, Consumer Discretionary and Commodities accelerated towards the close. Taking all but one of the major eleven sectors into the red with them. Energy finished worst off, oil, coal and uranium stocks down. WDS -2%, WHC -3.3% and BOE down 5.3%. PDN remains in trading halt. RMD finished close to its lows, -13.2%. CSL and COH holding up better. Down 0.3% and 0.4%. PME ploughed higher to another 52-week high, an unstoppable force currently. Up 0.47%. CTT lost around $400m in market cap, down 49% and 52% at worst. In commodities, there was nowhere to hide. Save for JHX (+1.3%) which reiterated guidance and a few mining contractors. IPL up 2.5% and ORI up 1.1%. Iron ore giants down, gold down, copper down, lithium down, rare earths down. All down. The defensives held up OK, ORG off 0.9% but AGL up 1.1%. WOW and COL only fell 0.6% and 0.1% on news the government may impose heavy fines to supermarket giants found guilty of unfairly squeezing suppliers on pricing. Tech fairly flat and the big banks gave in to selling pressure after midday. The big four down between 0.3% and 1%.

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The ASX200 has finished the day up 27 points (0.34%) and up 72 points for the week. Utilities and Energy were the best two performing sectors on the back of last night’s oil price rise. WDS up 1% and KAR up 3.6% on a broker upgrade. Utility stocks ORG and MCY saw big gains on a double hit of rising oil price and news of European sanctions on Russian natural gas. Up 3.3% and 4.1%. Telecom up again, TLS and REA gained 1.4% and 3.2%. TLS had its best week for some time. One of the least volatile stocks on the ASX, it added 4.6%. Health Care, Tech and REITS also in the green. COH recovered 3.2% of its 4.8% drop yesterday. Industrials and Consumer Discretionary were the only sectors to finish down. The big banks closed flat save for ANZ, off 0.9%. CBA is close to overtaking BHP as Australia's most valuable company. KMD had trading halting pending news of an earnings downgrade. It lost 7.7% on resumption. GYG closed down 3.3% on its second day of trading, was down 8% at worst.

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Wall Street ended mostly mixed overnight. The Dow Jones outperformed, advancing 300 points (+0.77%). Up 398 points at best. Down 56 points at worst. The S&P 500 briefly topped 5,500 points for the first time ever. A year-end target multiple brokers have forecasted before losing traction, falling 0.25%. The NASDAQ fell 0.79%, snapping a seven-session streak of record closing highs weighed down by losses in big tech. Nvidia -3.5% and Apple -2.2%. In economics, initial jobless claims came in at 238k, up from 235k expectations, and US housing starts fell 5.5% to an annualised 1.27m in May-24, the lowest level since July-20. Treasury yields rebounded, the 10Y yields rose above 4.27% before finishing at 4.261%. They touched a three-month low earlier in the week. The 2Y yield edged up 2.1bps. Nothing new or material in Fed speak, Fed’s Kashkari said rate outlooks depend on path of data.

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The ASX 200 has finished flat to 7769, slightly better than futures were suggesting. A quiet session that lacked direction, following a similarly quiet night in Europe while US markets were closed. Tech and Health Care the only sectors with significant moves. Health Care worst off after a 4.8% drop in COH (no new news). CSL and RMD fell in sympathy 0.8%. Tech stocks were sold off despite NASDAQ futures heading higher. WTC down another 0.5%, XRO down 0.2% and NXT off 1.6%. The other major sectors all traded in a narrow range. REITS finished on top thanks to solid gains in SCG, VCX, GPT and MGR. Big banks regained some ground from yesterday. The CBA best, up 0.6%.

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US markets closed overnight for Juneteenth National Independence Day. Australian shares to fall at the opening bell, with SPI Futures down 21 points. European equity markets closed firmly lower, weighed down by losses in real estate and technology stocks, while UK miners found buyers as the market digested inflation data. The STOXX 50 fell 0.61%, and the STOXX 600 eased 0.17% after the European Commission issued formal reprimands to France, Italy, and five other members over wider-than-allowed fiscal deficits. Paris’s CAC 40 ended its two-day winning streak falling 0.77%, amid uneasiness surrounding the country's political future. Frankfurt’s DAX booked a 0.35% loss in thin trading. London’s FTSE 100 outperformed its peers, reversing earlier losses to finish up 0.17%. UK inflation returned to its 2% target in May for the first time in nearly three years, however, core inflation remains too high, so it's likely BoE will wait longer to cut rates.

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The Australian market has finished the day down 8 points (-0.11%) to 7770. Energy was the standout performer on the back of another strong gain in the oil price (WTI was up 1.7% overnight). WDS and STO up 1.3% and 1.1%. BPT in contrast was hit hard, down 4.3% on multiple broker downgrades after the company announced low er production and higher CAPEX yesterday. Staples continued their strong run, up in every session this week. WOW and COL up 0.1% and 0.7%. TWE up 2.7%, positive China-Australia sentiment giving the stock a boost. Tech mirrored the NASDAQ, closing near flat. WTC’s short-term selling took a break, up 0.1% while XRO gained 0.8%. REITs and Healthcare closed near flat. The big banks closed down between 0.4% and 0.8% with NAB the exception. Up 0.5%. In commodities, the iron ore giants finished flat. FMG lost a 2.5% morning gain. Citi downgraded its 2025 iron ore price forecasts while lifting those for copper and aluminium. SFR finished down 1.7%, AWC down 0.6%. Uranium stocks were in the green after the Coalition announced plans to build seven nuclear reactors by 2050 if elected next year. PDN, BOE and DYL up 1.1%, 2.2% and 4.2%. Gold stocks responded well to the overnight commodity price rise and bond yield drop. Lithium down again.

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Wall Street ended higher overnight following softer-than-expected US retail sales data. The S&P 500 recorded its 31st record high of the year, gaining 0.25%. Boosted by Nvidia up 3.5%, surpassing Microsoft (-0.5%) to become the world's most valuable company. Market cap of $3.335T. The NASDAQ was near flat, while the Dow advanced 57 points (+0.15). Up 159 points at best. Down 50 points at worst. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index recorded another record high, boosted by gains in Qualcomm +2.2%, Arm Holdings +8.6%, and Micron +3.8% extending their recent rallies. US Retail sales rose 0.1% MonM in May, below the forecast of 0.2%, in another sign that consumer sentiment is cooling. Treasury yields have fallen in five of the last six sessions. 10Y yield down 6.6bps and 2Y yield off 4.9bps.


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The ASX 200 has finished the day up 78 points (1%) to 7778, closing near the high. The RBA’s decision to hold rates passing unnoticed by the market. Bond yields did respond, the AU2Y rising 5bp on the announcement and subsequent Michele Bullock press conference. The Utilities sector was the star performer thanks to a 3.5% rise in ORG. Banks were next best with solid gains continuing. MQG up 2.6%, the CBA up 2% (will tend to do better than its peers which have gone ex-dividend already). ANZ, WBC and NAB still up between 0.9% and 2.1%. Defensives kept up the winning streak. Industrials, Health Care and Staples doing well. TCL unperturbed by the bond yield gains. Up 1.6%. SVW recovered some of its 2.1% drop yesterday. Materials was the only major sector to finish flat thanks to FMG’s big block sale commencing. Down 5.2%. BHP and RIO both managed gains after five straight down days. Up 0.6% and 0.9%. Gold stocks were mixed as bond yields rose. NEM up 2.2% on a broker upgrade. NST down 1.1%. Uranium fairly flat aside from BOE up 2.2%. Spot prices hovering around US$85 a pound. Lithium stocks had a small relief rally after taking a battering. PLS the best up 3.8%. It had fallen 25% in less than a month.

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US equities kicked off the week on a positive note. The S&P 500 rose 0.77%, hitting its 30th record high this year. The NASDAQ advanced 0.95%, marking its sixth consecutive record high, buoyed by gains in large tech stocks. The Dow Jones gained 189 points (+0.49%), ending just off best levels. Up 251 points at best. Down 157 points at worst. Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index touched an all-time high before finishing up 1.60%, as funds found their way into chip stocks. Broadcom +5.4%, Taiwan SC Manufacturing +2.7%, and Micron Technology gaining 4.5% after increases in price targets by brokers. Goldman Sachs lifted its 2024 S&P 500 year-end target from 5,200 to 5,600, while Evercore ISI raised its forecast from 4,750 to 6,000. Both brokerages cited tech strength and AI optimism as reasons for their upgrades. Treasury yields climbed following several high-grade corporate bond sales exceeding $21bn, led by Home Depot. 10Y and 2Y yields up 6bps. In Fed speak, Harker stressed the Fed’s data dependence, with one cut possibly by year-end.

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