HomeReportsMacro Monday: It’s September & equities are…
The ASX200 only slipped 3 meagre points last week but if you were overweight the iron ore sector it would have felt very different as Beijing’s ongoing clampdown on steel production, courtesy of their migration towards lower emissions, drove the price of the bulk commodity lower. Come Friday afternoon iron ore had more than halved in just 1-month hammering the likes of Fortescue Metals (FMG), RIO Tinto (RIO) and BHP Group (BHP) in the process. We have a few takeout’s from this seismic repricing over recent weeks:
The ASX 200 ended the week up +1.4 %, taking the month's gains to +2.7%, as the index pushed within striking distance of February's all-time high. The energy and tech sectors drove the gains, both ending the week by more than 5%, while defensive/rate-sensitive stocks dragged the chain, i.e. “risk on” was the order of the day. Out of the mainboard's 11 sectors, only the consumer staples, Utilities, and real estate sectors closed lower. The US-China “Trade Truce” set the platform for a strong start to the week, before the Australian market posted its highest level in three months on Friday after soft US economic data paved the way for interest rate cuts in Australia and the United States. The positive statistics are continuing to line up:
SPI Futures were uber bullish overnight up nearly 100pts, outpacing gains in other markets and that drove a bump on open for stocks, however, it didn’t last with the main board giving back the lion’s share of gains as the day progressed, ultimately trading more than 50pts off the early highs – a sign of exhaustion in the short term after a great rally in stocks.
The ASX 200 rallied for a seventh consecutive day on Thursday. Although the gain of less than 2% has been relatively modest, the sellers remain largely absent as bank dividends are due to hit investors' accounts next month, and the EOFY looms.
The market had a few reasons to decline today following a quiet night overseas, further weakness in US Futures during our time zone, Asian markets that tracked lower and strong employment data out at 11.30am reducing rate cut expectations, however stocks looked through the negative vibe and edged higher- in other words, they simply look like they want to go up!
The ASX 200 struggled early on Wednesday before rallying into the close to finish the session up just over 10 points, enjoying its sixth day of consecutive gains, and posting its highest close in 11 weeks. There might not have been too much buying into strength this week, but in comparable fashion, sellers weren’t keen to increase cash levels into weakness.
The market chopped around par for much of the session before pushing mildly higher into the close underpinned by strength in the Energy and IT sectors, while the influential banks and miners also player their part.
The ASX200 advanced +0.4% on Tuesday, posting a new 12-week high, but overall it was a disappointing performance after an early +1% move, especially compared to the 3.3% overnight surge by the US S&P 500 Index.
The ASX rallied today, keying off a good session in the U.S predicated on positive tariff developments, though the move was somewhat disappointing/unconvincing. Stocks saw the best of it early, with a clear rotation out of defensives into cyclicals, and while some held their gains for the full session, others experienced profit taking, pushing the index ~45pts off it’s highs.
The ASX200 struggled on Monday, failing to embrace a strong opening by the US S&P 500 futures after the US and China reported “substantial progress” after two days of talks in Switzerland aimed at de-escalating the worrying trade war. The main board opened strongly up almost 50 points before drifting lower throughout the session to finish basically unchanged as optimism around trade succumbed to caution.
Poised for a relatively uneventful session after a soft US market on Friday night, trade talks between the White House and China over the weekend set off US futures this morning, lighting a spark for the Australian market early.
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