What Matters Today: Iron looks & feels awful - buy more or bale out?

Yesterday saw Iron Ore plunge to its lowest level since May 2023 as China Baowu Steel Group Corp, the world’s largest steelmaker, warned of a crisis ahead in China, increasing concerns about demand just as major miners boost output. Futures of the bulk commodity subsequently dropped in Singapore for the sixth time in seven days. Hu Wangming, chairman of China Baowu Steel Group Corp., said the sector now faced a crisis more painful than the downturns of 2008 and 2015, likening conditions to a “severe winter” and highlighting a need to preserve cash. Iron ore has plunged by almost a third this year in a slump that’s made it one of the worst-performing major commodities and, by definition, sectors in the stock market.

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Afternoon report 17/04/2025 16:46

The Match Out: ASX strong as energy bounces back, commodity stocks impress on quarterlies

A bullish session after a decent hit to U.S markets overnight, particularly the tech sector which was -3.9% weaker amid further U.S tariff and policy intervention. It was a slow and steady move up over the day, opening flat but climbing ~5-10 points hour after hour.

Morning report 17/04/2025 09:38

What Matters Today: Did MM turn neutral towards Gold too early?

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

Portfolio Positioning: It’s “almost” official; here come the RBA Rate Cuts

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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

Local stocks rose for the second straight session, with banks up early and maintaining, after an impressive start to reporting season by their U.S counterparts. President Trump indicated a temporary reprieve from tariffs on imported vehicles and parts providing incremental hope that tariffs will be paused or adjusted in other areas.

Morning report 15/04/2025 11:16

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

The ASX200 surged over 100 points on Monday, taking a positive lead after President Trump paused import duties on various consumer electronics. However, he warned markets on Sunday that tariffs are still coming in a social media post shortly after he finished his Sunday golf game: “NOBODY is getting off the hook”.

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

President Donald Trump announced over the weekend that smartphones, computers, and other electronics would be exempted from his reciprocal tariffs. This represents a significant reprieve for global technology manufacturers, including Apple (AAPL US) and Nvidia (NVDA US), whose shares had plunged over 25% at their worst since late March.

Weekend report 12/04/2025 10:05

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

Last week's wild gyrations on Wall Street shook investor confidence, but amazingly, US stocks wiped out early losses to deliver their best weekly gain since 2023. The Fear Index (VIX) spiked towards 60 on Monday before dropping to about 37 on Friday afternoon as relative calm returned to markets—a good sign into the weekend when posts can fly on X.

Afternoon report 11/04/2025 16:59

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

Risk-off sentiment spilled over from overseas markets as the ASX gapped down -180pts on the open despite SPI futures indicating a less severe -115pt drop. Investors flocked to safe haven gold as the precious metal hit yet another all-time high above $US3100, with heavy selling in the growthier end of the market kicking things off.