The Match Out: ASX pulls back from highs, still has a strong week

The ASX pulled back from recent highs today on some profit-taking after a solid week. Better news on the inflation and interest rate front propelled equities to all-time highs in the US & UK, and a whisker below all-time highs locally, as the narrative around a soft landing, or no landing at all, continues to gain traction. Interest rate sensitive sectors have had a great week, and fading the moves that played out in April has certainly been the trade to back, while it looks like BHO may walk away from a deal to buy Anglo at this point, underpinning a relief rally in our biggest local index weight. All in all, investors made money this week, we’ll take it, and as always, concentrate on what could come next! Manly vs Broncos tonight – Go the Mighty Sea Eagles!

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Afternoon report 12/06/2025 17:09

The Match Out: ASX fails to launch, awaits U.S-China trade deal confirmation

Despite a U.S-China trade deal now all but done, global markets overnight and the local index today are apprehensive to move higher - the ASX tried its best to break out but ran out of steam without the specifics of the deal and both sides yet to officially sign off.

Morning report 12/06/2025 16:31

What Matters Today: Can the Supermarkets emulate the Big Four Banks?

Wednesday saw the ASX 200 post a fresh all-time high at 8639 before reversing most of the early morning gains to close back below the psychological 8600 barrier.

Afternoon report 11/06/2025 17:36

The Match Out: ASX all-time highs short-lived as investors sell the fact on trade talk resolution

Today marked another intra-day record for the ASX 200, though this time it couldn’t hold with the market closing -47pts off the morning high. It had a feeling of buy the rumour sell the fact as Chinese and U.S trade officials walked away from two days of negotiations having agreed on a preliminary plan to ease trade tensions, emphasising resolving issues around rare earths minerals and magnets shipping, with the U.S expecting to lift export restrictions in a ‘balanced way’.

Morning report 12/06/2025 17:33

Portfolio Positioning: The unloved Bull Market confounds the numerous bears

The ASX200 posted a record close on Tuesday as broad-based buying took the index up 0.8%, with the heavyweight financials leading the market higher; the “Big Four” gained an average of 1.2%. The market adopted a clear “risk on” theme as it approached all-time highs, while abandoning some of the year's best-performing defensives, as underweight fund managers appeared increasingly exposed to the rising market.

Afternoon report 10/06/2025 17:49

The Match Out: Positive trade talks drive ASX to new all-time high close

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Morning report 12/06/2025 17:33

Macro Monday: Don’t fight the tape while the Goldilocks scenario is in play

Last week saw the US S&P 500 push to within 2.5% of its all-time high, enjoying the biggest jump since late May on Friday after a stronger-than-expected jobs report eased fears about a slowdown in the economy.

Weekend report 07/06/2025 09:41

Weekend Q&A: Enjoy the long weekend and bull market!

Even after slipping 0.3% on Friday, the ASX200 advanced 1.0% for the week, closing just 100 points/1.2% below February's all-time high. Overall, it was a relatively quiet week as traders eyed the long weekend as an excuse to pull up stumps early, compounded by the uncertainty of Friday night's May Payrolls numbers (jobs data) - in hindsight, there was nothing to worry about there! Although it felt quiet, it was the market's largest one-week gain since mid-May, with the ASX200 now advancing for four consecutive weeks and set to start the fifth positively. As we approach the EOFY, it's hard to imagine following all of the Trump concerns that the ASX200 is up +9.6% for the FY, yet another example of how equities deliver over time:

Afternoon report 06/06/2025 17:49

The Match Out: ASX drifts lower into long weekend ahead of U.S labour data

A softer session played out on the ASX today opening ~10pts up though never looked like moving higher with sellers chipping away as the index drifted down steadily through the day, closing at its lows ahead of key employment data in the U.S tonight.

Morning report 06/06/2025 10:39

What Matters Today: ETF Friday focuses on Yield as the RBA is forecast to cut again in July

The ASX 200 closed marginally lower on Thursday, surrendering early gains in a fairly lacklustre session, which at one stage was only ~0.6% from its February all-time high. The healthcare sector was the weakest on the day, with heavyweight CSL contributing the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.3%. There was some rare reversion on the stock/sector level, with gold names struggling while lithium names popped higher, not the normal EOFY tax loss selling shenanigans you would expect as we commence June:

Afternoon report 05/06/2025 16:39

The Match Out: Lithium stocks rally in an otherwise quiet session

A quiet day at the index level with the market closing flat, early strength was sold into, however, there was some reasonable moves in some stocks particularly in the resources space headlined by Lithium.