Australian Investment Blog

• The ASX 200 rallied as much as 55 points prior to closing 36 points higher at 5965.• The much anticipated rally was from a mixture of the PBoC cutting its interest rates over the weekend and locally and a 73% chance of a March rate cut tomorrow. As at this morning, the market is betting on a rate cut down to 2.1% tomorrow and 1.85% by July.• It is with no surprise investors were chasing the high yield stocks due to interest rate cut concerns, such as the banks. ANZ closed 1% higher at $35.70 and National Australia Bank (NAB) up 1.1% at $38.32. • The major supermarkets continue to disappoint as expected. Woolworths (WOW) closed 4.6% lower at $29.29 and Wesfarmers (WES) down 1.3% at $43.30. Please refer to this morning’s report and comments on the companies and sector.• Myer (MYR) slumped 10.8% to $1.655 following the announcement of the departure CEO, Bernie Brookes and CFO, Mark Ashby. Prior to the announcement, MYR is the most “shorted” stock, with 18.9% interest of its quoted shares on issue, reported as a short position.• Orica (ORI) had an explosive 3.4% close higher at $20.50 after announcing an on market buyback of up to $400m in the next 12 months.