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The US S&P500 Value Index is less than 5% below its all-time high while the Growth index continues to languish a painful 28% below its equivalent milestone. We may have seen the likes of Netflix (NFLX US) double in 6 months but they remain significantly below their late 2021 high. As subscribers know with interest rates soaring from their ultra-accommodative levels post Covid to arguably the new norm investors shouldn’t be surprised by the market rerating of the growth stocks.
It was a case of rinse & repeat for the ASX today with early sold-off then seeing support kicking in before midday to take the index to a new 9-month high. Despite the strength in the index, the banks failed to join the rally, certainly surprising to see such a strong move without the Financial sector contributing, likely on the back of a sector-wide downgrade coming through from Macquarie yesterday. It was the Materials sector continuing to see buying that dragged the index to within 2% of all-time highs today while Real Estate and Tech were also key pillars of strength.
The ASX200 edged higher yesterday in quiet trading compounding its gains for 2023 to 6% after just 3 weeks of trading, the index was actually higher earlier in the day but some selling, most notably across iron ore names, was enough to see the index surrender 75% of the early advance. The broad-based market is starting to feel understandably tired after surging well over 1000 points in less than 4 months although the Tech Sector is finally attracting some buying as inflation fears subside.
Bulls & Bears played tug of war today in a whipsawing session to start the week. The index quickly rallied to a new high early on before giving up ~40pts within an hour of hitting the peak. Buyers stepped up from there, helping the ASX200 to stem the losses and trade back into marginally positive territory. With most Asian markets closed for Lunar New Year celebrations, there was little in the way of news flow to control the index. Tech shares…
Australian stocks continue to defy gravity and overall investor sentiment, this morning they look set to open less than 2% below last year’s all-time high even while interest rates soar, housing prices fall and US stocks struggle i.e. the S&P500 closed higher on Friday but still a painful 21% below its last 2021 top. It’s not just the obvious miners that are dragging the ASX higher the banks remain very strong with heavyweight CBA less than 1.5% below its top before we even consider its excellent yield.
The ASX200 has now advanced +5.9% this month and we’ve still got more than a week to go! The buying has been broad-based with only 14% of the main board down so far in 2023 however it has been the strength in the strength in the influential banks, healthcare and resource stocks that’s driven the index higher. The gains in the following 6 stocks illustrate the story of the tape in January:
The ASX punched new 8-month highs for the 5th consecutive session today with the bulls outlasting some lunchtime wobbles to trade higher into the close. It was the commodity sectors of energy and materials leading the charge, and impressively carrying the index as less than half of the shares in the ASX200 closed higher on the day. Telcos were the main drag on the index, but most surprising was a fall in the Financials despite the green session. The ASX climbed more than 1% for the week for the third consecutive time, adding 124pts / +1.69%.
The ASX200 put in an extremely impressive performance yesterday rallying +0.57% posting its highest level since May in the process, all after the Dow had tumbled more than 600 points following weak economic data (Retail Sales & Producer Price Index). On Thursday we saw Australian unemployment unexpectedly nudge higher to 3.5% while the participation rate dropped 0.2% following a surprise drop in employment, as would be expected bond yields fell as investors hoped for the end to rate hikes sooner rather than later. Under the hood the story remains a touch clouded:
Local shares shrugged weakness seen in international markets today to storm to a new 8-month high. The market eased slightly on the open, however, once employment data hit at 11.30am, buyers stepped up to the plate. Despite the strength in the index, only half of the ASX200 managed a gain today- clearly the heavyweights doing the heavy lifting. The influential sectors of Materials and Financials were the top performers while Tech and Energy both struggled.
The ASX200 edged up +0.1% yesterday helped by further gains by the Tech Sector while losses in Real Estate & Utilities dragged on the index although it was overall a quiet day illustrated by only two stocks on the main board moving by more than 5%. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) produced the most fireworks during the lacklustre session when they surprised many pundits ignoring market speculation/expectations for policy tweaks sending the Yen tumbling in the process. There were some major moves at 2 pm on the announcement albeit fleeting in some cases:
