The Match Out: ASX flat, Xero (XRO) makes big bet on the US

The market held on to yesterdays rally today, finishing flat, as strength continued in the banks while the miners lagged as we approach the EOFY i.e. the trends that have persisted in FY25 are extending, however, what comes in FY26 is now firmly on our radar. While it’s hard to see anyone selling CBA before the 30th June and wearing a big tax bill, CBA’s +50% gain this year (relative to its ~4% earnings growth) pushing it up to a ~12% index weight in the ASX 200 is simply extraordinary. They say trees don’t grow to the sky, but CBA is certainly having a good crack, pushing its valuation to ~29x and yield down to 2.5%, closing today at a new record of $191.40!

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Afternoon report 21/07/2025 17:06

The Match Out: Banks drag ASX lower, Miners remain well bid

We’ve written about sector rotation a lot in recent notes and today was another clear example of the theme playing out, with banks underperforming resources by a significant ~2.5%. News that Warren Buffett was selling down bank holdings was sighted as a catalyst, and it probably played a part.

Morning report 21/07/2025 09:24

Macro Monday: Equities punch to new highs on a lack of negative news

Since April, global indices have shrugged off bad news almost with disdain, leaving many pundits looking for new reasons to justify a potential fall in stocks. Most importantly, for all the political noise and recession warnings, the linchpin US economy remains resilient, allowing markets to scale new heights.

Weekend report 19/07/2025 08:53

Weekend Q&A: The bulls are stampeding like Pamplona

The ASX200 rallied another +2.1% last week, posting a fresh closing high on Friday, extending July’s gain to +2.5%. Gains were broad-based over the five days, with all 11 of the main sectors closing higher, led by Tech and healthcare, which surged +5.2% and +4.8% respectively. The trend remains clearly bullish, and while the average gain for the month of July over the last decade is around 3% equities are breaking to new highs with strong momentum, and as we mentioned on Friday morning, the surprises in markets usually unfold with the trend - the best two Julys of the last decade have delivered gains closer to 6%.

Afternoon report 18/07/2025 17:23

The Match Out: Bang! ASX breaks out of its trading range, scales new highs

Bang! The ASX broke out of its recent tight trading range today, trading above 8700 for the first time, buoyed by coordinated buying across the material and healthcare sectors, with technology also having a good crack. Softer employment data yesterday brings into play 3 rate cuts this side of Christmas, which is a bullish catalyst, however, today looked more momentum driven, with a clean break above a 6-week trading range, dovetailing in with low school holiday volumes – a quick trip into the city this am and a strong market – a win/win

Alerts 18/07/2025 10:03

Trade Alerts – Active Growth & Core ETF Portfolio

We are making changes across two portfolios today

Morning report 18/07/2025 09:22

ETF Friday: Using ETFs to invest across the Banking Sector, home and abroad

The ASX 200 closed up +0.9% on Thursday, posting both a fresh intraday and closing high. The catalyst being a surprisingly weak June jobs report, which increased the case for three rate cuts before Christmas - two were already being fully factored in.

Afternoon report 17/07/2025 17:09

The Match Out: Soft jobs data surely means a rate cut in August! Stocks rally

A positive open this morning, but the buyers really kicked into gear following softer employment data out at 11.30am which opens the door for a rate cut at the next meeting, they should have cut last week! Rate sensitive sectors faired best, though the love was broadly spread with 80% of the main board ending higher.

Morning report 17/07/2025 09:48

What Matters Today: What’s MM’s pick from the “Magnificent Seven” as Nvidia soars past $US4 trillion?

The ASX200 took a 0.8% hit on Wednesday, its worst session since early May, with over 65% of the main board retreating. Rising long-term bond yields and ongoing uncertainty around tariffs proved too much for a market striving to post new highs.

Afternoon report 16/07/2025 16:51

The Match Out: ASX down, weakest session since early May

The ASX had its worst day since 5th May today, which implies we’ve had a pretty good run in stocks despite ongoing trade uncertainty. The market was hit on the open, with all sectors trading in the red before recent trends emerged; banks experiencing ongoing selling while resources bounced from their intra-day nadir.

Morning report 16/07/2025 09:52

Portfolio Positioning: Fed rate cut bets wane, even after a soft CPI

The ASX200 surged +0.7% on Tuesday following broad-based gains, which saw 70% of the mainboard close higher. The index posted a fresh record closing high for the second time in a fortnight, ignoring plenty of negative news along the way. Ironically, the only sector which slipped on the day was the materials even after China reported better-than-expected quarterly economic growth, although we wouldn't be surprised to see this translate to some buying in the miners into August.