HomeReports3 stocks of interest as we learn from March – Part…
After 6-trading days in a tight 125-point / 2% range the ASX200 gave any complacent investors a quick COVID-19 shot across the bow as the local market tumbled -2.5% on Thursday. The catalyst for the selling was the increasing cases of coronavirus creating serious doubt in many investors’ minds around how quickly the global economy can put the pandemic well and truly in the rear-view mirror. Our current opinion at MM is equities did get slightly ahead of themselves in writing off the virus but we’re better prepared for secondary outbreaks plus of course every week that passes is a week closer to a vaccine Hence MM remains buyers into weakness. Plus, to help us all from an investing perspective we’ve now got a potential road map of sector performance from March until today.
Note Australian bond yields are now over 20% above their US peers - illustrating why we are seeing some strong buying in the $A, its simply where you’ll earn more interest on your money
The ASX 200 rallied on the final trading day of May, closing up +0.3% for the session, leaving the index just ~2% below its all-time high. Overall, an excellent performance by the Australian bourse, advancing +3.8% for the month, shrugging off the ongoing uncertainty around tariffs and rising long-dated bond yields. However, a more dovish than expected RBA, a strong banking sector, suspicions of overseas buying, and a market caught underweight stocks after their dramatic “V-shaped” recovery from Trump's “Liberation Day” was enough to drive the local market back towards the 8600 area. With pullbacks well supported in one of the most hated bullish advances that we can recall, it makes for a compelling argument that new highs are just around the corner.
The final trading day of the month carried the ASX to a 3.8% gain over the period and now within ~200pts of all-time highs with investors brushing off tariff risk and shifting focus back to fundamentals.
The ASX 200 closed marginally higher on Thursday, and as we enter the last trading day of May, the index is up +3.5% with only the utilities sector dragging the chain. Although it's been a stellar month, yesterday's performance was a touch disappointing considering the global tailwinds.
The local market edged higher today after opening mildly weaker, lifted by strength in energy and tech stocks. A strong result from Nvidia pre-market sparked bullish sentiment toward AI enabling a +1.9% jump in NASDAQ futures, while the U.S Court of International Trade ruled against the Trump-imposed tariffs, fuelling ~30pt lift on the ASX mid-morning.
The market opened on the firm side, pushing to a new high in this recent recovery, before sellers took control post a very mildly hotter monthly inflation read. It actually felt more like index selling that dominated today, shown through both the financials and materials being the weakest links, with selling persisting throughout the afternoon.
The ASX 200 failed to build on a strong session on Wall Street, finishing down 0.1% on Wednesday, with weakness in the banks more than offsetting broader buying, as over 55% of the main board closed higher.
The ASX200 advanced +0.6%, closing at a three-month high, on Tuesday. The index was trading lower into lunchtime before the S&P 500 futures got the proverbial “bit between its teeth,” pushing higher after Japan indicated it’s considering a reduction in bond issuance.
The direction of least resistance remains on the upside, with the ASX adding another 0.5% in what should have been a quiet day of trade. No noise (from Trump) is good noise, though it seems when noise does come out, the market is digesting it much better, on the expectation it will ultimately get diluted. Our premise going into and through the tariff meltdown was that this was a strategy rather than a policy, which is proving to be the case, though the market is becoming complacent as it trades only ~250pts below it’s all-time high.
The ASX200 ended flat in a surprisingly quiet session on Monday, considering the market uncertainty around tariffs towards the EU and Apple, plus the recent volatility with the longer-dated bonds.
A weaker open was implied by SPI Futures, though an easing in time frames by President Trump towards the EU following a ‘nice talk’ between the two saw US equity futures rally, dragging our market with them. Uranium stocks the place to be today, and while news broke during our trading session on Friday (about Trumps executive orders to fast track Nuclear), the moves were undercooked, so, some further upside played out today. We think this is a material change in ‘vibe’ towards the sector that could be the catalyst to see the term contracting market fire back up.
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