The Weekend Q&A: Inflation & rates have again started to weigh on stocks

The ASX200 bounced into the close on Friday but it wasn’t enough to prevent an 88-point decline over the week, the selling was broad-based across the 5 days with some strength in the gold and defensive stocks unable to halt the -1.2% dip. The local index was trading around 7320 just before the RBA’s 0.25% rate hike last week after which we expressed the view that it would take 1-2 weeks for stocks to put the move into the rear-view mirror, perhaps the buyers will return next week with Christmas only a fortnight away.

Winners: Fortescue Metals (FMG) +8.7%, Sandfire Resources (SFR) +8%, Silver Lake Resources (SLR) +7.3%, and BHP Group (BHP) +3.8%.

Losers: Corporate Travel (CTD) -8.8%, Megaport (MP1) -7.3%, IGO Ltd (IGO) -6.7%, Macquarie Group (MQG) -6.8%, James Hardie (JHX) -6% Woodside Energy (WDS) -4.3%, and ANZ Bank (ANZ) -4.1%.

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Afternoon report 17/04/2025 16:46

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Morning report 17/04/2025 09:38

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The ASX 200 performed well on Wednesday, considering US NASDAQ Futures were down over 2% by 4pm AEST, courtesy of poor news from both sides of the Atlantic before the respective bourses even opened. Global Tech stocks sank on a one-two of bad news for tech goliaths Nvidia and ASML, the last thing the embattled semiconductor sector needed.

Afternoon report 16/04/2025 17:42

The Match Out: ASX climbs then fades, BOQ impresses on margins

The ASX200 tried hard to rally throughout the session shrugging off early weakness in S&P500 futures as tech giant Nvidia announced new licensing requirements for US chipmakers exporting to China could cost the firm $US8bn a quarter causing the stock to trade down ~6% in after-hours trade.

Morning report 16/04/2025 09:54

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Afternoon report 15/04/2025 17:03

The Match Out: Banks follow U.S peers up early, ASX runs out of steam late

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Morning report 15/04/2025 11:16

What Matters Today: Can the Australian “Big Banks” deliver like their US peers?

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Afternoon report 14/04/2025 17:07

The Match Out: Sellers dwindle, ASX moves higher on tariff optimism

The ASX shot out of the gates, far above the slated +18pt rise indicated by SPI futures pre-market, +60pts on the open and grinding another +40pts higher slowly but surely over the day, as 10 out of 11 sectors finished in positive territory. The market took U.S President Donald Trump’s move to exempt selected consumer electronics from tariffs as a signal of willingness to be somewhat flexible and practical with his policies and negotiations more broadly.

Morning report 14/04/2025 09:46

Macro Monday: Trump blinks first in tariff war against China

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Weekend report 12/04/2025 10:05

Weekend Q&A: Tariff chaos and the S&P500 enjoys its best week since 2023!

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Afternoon report 11/04/2025 16:59

The Match Out: ASX gaps down, surges to close on intra-day high

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