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The ASX 200 continues to ride the volatile rollercoaster it’s been aboard for well over 400-days. Last week the local market looked destined for new all-time highs following triple-digit gains on Friday, close on the heels of a strong performance on the Thursday. This morning we’re sitting at our desks contemplating what’s next after President Trump declared the ceasefire with “scum” Iran is over; we knew he wasn’t happy following the USA’s debacle of an exit from the World Cup, but we didn’t think global tensions would escalate in just a matter of hours. The news is already sounding so familiar to much of the last quarter:
The ASX 200 finished modestly lower after recovering from an early 1.4% decline, with strength across Energy and Financials helping the market claw back losses following renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
We are making several changes across portfolios
The ASX200 fell away on Tuesday, finishing the soft session down 0.3% as further weakness in the miners offset a resurgence by the influential banks. While the gold and lithium names dominated the losers’ enclosure from a performance perspective, it was the heavyweights in the materials sector that weighed on the index, with BHP Group (ASX: BHP), Northern Star (ASX: NST) and Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN) hitting the index by more than 0.3% on their own.
The ASX 200 whipsawed through the morning session, initially lower but then charging back to positive territory before ultimately falling away for the day. Samsung’s quarterly result sparked a broad “sell-the-news” reaction across Asian semiconductor stocks which triggered Nasdaq futures selling, weighing on sentiment locally.
The ASX 200 slipped 0.2% on Monday, in a lacklustre session that only saw 40% of the main board close higher despite encouraging moves by US futures during local market trade. Ongoing stock and sector reversion was evident, in particular with some major underperformers of the last 12 months enjoying a return to the winners’ enclosure.
The ASX 200 eased today in what was a relatively subdued start to the week, with the market spending most of the session oscillating around the flatline before sellers gradually gained the upper hand into the afternoon. There was little in the way of macro catalysts, leaving investors to rotate away from the heavyweight Banks and Miners that drove Friday’s rally and back toward Healthcare, Technology and Energy.
Last month, the new Fed Chair struck a hawkish tone in his first press conference, sending gold and copper prices lower while lifting the US dollar after signalling policymakers remained prepared to raise interest rates further if required to rein in inflation.
The ASX 200 finished the week on a strong note, rallying as investors embraced weaker-than-expected US employment data that reinforced the view the Federal Reserve may be nearing the end of its tightening cycle. The market opened firmly higher, grinding up before holding its gains through to the end of the session, with buying broad-based across the index as nine of the eleven sectors finished in positive territory.
