Archives: Reports
The ASX200 retreated 0.4% on Tuesday, struggling from the get-go after Wall Street’s weakness on Monday night. Almost 60% of the market retreated, with losses concentrated in the materials and utilities sectors, although both were only down around 1%.
The ASX lost some steam today and as we penned this morning, we believe the market is starting to feel tired after its 25% advance from the April lows.
The ASX200 closed up just +0.1% on Monday, after the index surrendered substantial early gains and failed to close above the psychological 9000 level. Selling was most noticeable in the banks, with the financial sector ending the day down 1.2% with 6 of the main boards’ 11 main sectors closing lower.
The ASX opened with a bang this morning hitting a high of 9054 before sellers got engaged, pushing the index down ~70pts from the early high. While the structure of the market still remains clearly bullish, we stick with our more neutral bias on stocks around all-time highs, and today’s selling into strength, supports that view.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell used his much-anticipated speech from Jackson Hole on Friday to signal that the US central bank is on track for an interest-rate cut in September, after holding its benchmark steady in the first eight months of the year. The market reaction was instantaneous, with Powell unleashing the biggest cross-market surge since April by striking a surprisingly dovish tone during his speech. The S&P 500 Index rebounded from a five-day slide, rising +1.5%; meanwhile, the rate/economically-sensitive Russell 2000 small-cap index surged almost 4%.
The ASX200 fell away on Friday to close down 0.6%, with the heavyweight miners and banks largely reversing early gains to close lower. The index still managed to end the week up +0.3%, but it failed to hold above the psychological 9000 level, with healthcare, and especially CSL, weighing heavily. The week, as expected, was dominated by the reporting season, with “misses” treated a touch more severely than beats were embraced. However, that’s no major surprise with the index posting all-time highs as often as it rains in Sydney!
The market tapered off as the day progressed with the ASX giving back half of yesterday’s strong move – as reporting season roles on. More misses than hits today with some big moves playing out as a consequence.
The ASX 200 surged over 100 points on Thursday to close above the 9000 level for the first time, who would have thought back in April? All 11 major sectors closed higher as the bulls got the bit between their teeth, and sellers were very stock-specific.
The ASX opened strongly and surged past the 9000 mark for the first time around midday, rallying on the back of broad-based gains as all 11 sectors finished in positive territory. Solid results from Super Retail and Brambles kicked off proceedings with broker upgrades on stocks that have already come through providing more firepower.
The ASX200 closed up +0.25% on Wednesday, which was impressive considering James Hardie (JHX) was thumped ~28%, and CSL extended Tuesday’s decline by another 2.1%.
