Macro Monday: The RBA gives a confidence boost to Aussie stocks & housing

As the US first-quarter earnings season draws to a close, stocks have rallied on easing trade tensions and results that have largely been better than feared/expected. However, companies across the US, Europe and China are pulling their forecasts for the year or providing gloomy outlooks, citing rising costs, weak consumer sentiment and a lack of business confidence as a result of President Donald Trump’s worldwide trade offensive – they’re laying the foundations for a tough 2nd half of 2025, while hopefully hoping to overdeliver if things turn out not too badly.

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Morning report 19/05/2025 09:38

Macro Monday: The RBA gives a confidence boost to Aussie stocks & housing

As the US first-quarter earnings season draws to a close, stocks have rallied on easing trade tensions and results that have largely been better than feared/expected. However, companies across the US, Europe and China are pulling their forecasts for the year or providing gloomy outlooks, citing rising costs, weak consumer sentiment and a lack of business confidence as a result of President Donald Trump’s worldwide trade offensive - they’re laying the foundations for a tough 2nd half of 2025, while hopefully hoping to overdeliver if things turn out not too badly.

Weekend report 17/05/2025 09:32

Weekend Q&A: The RBA will be centre stage this week, with a rate cut expected

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:

Afternoon report 16/05/2025 17:11

The Match Out: ASX books another strong week, now up 16% from the lows

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.

Morning report 16/05/2025 09:51

What Matters Today: ETF Friday focuses on ASX200 Sectors

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.

Afternoon report 15/05/2025 16:56

The Match Out: Stocks grind higher, Xero (XRO) reports & rallies

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!

Morning report 15/05/2025 17:41

What Matters Today: Evaluating three new entrants to the ASX200

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.

Afternoon report 14/05/2025 17:25

The Match Out: ASX consolidates recent gains, Aussie wages up more than tipped.

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.

Morning report 15/05/2025 17:42

Portfolio Positioning: The US S&P 500 turns positive for 2025, led by AI

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.

Afternoon report 13/05/2025 16:39

The Match Out: Stocks rally, though optimism fades as the day progressed

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.

Morning report 13/05/2025 10:14

What Matters Today: Four stocks MM would sell/switch as US-China slash tariffs

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.