HomeReportsThe Match Out: ASX up again as mid-cap Gold stocks…
While the market continues to edge up, it’s becoming very stock specific and we are seeing some obvious loss of momentum in to fresh all-time highs. Some profit taking in banks becoming obvious while resources by in large remain friendless.
The ASX found its footing today, snapping back from a six-month low as investors embraced a more dovish tone from the US Federal Reserve. After nearly $40bn was wiped off the local market late last week, today’s relief rally felt well-timed and broad-based. Rate-sensitives led the bounce, but we also saw solid rotation across industrials, healthcare and selected pockets of materials.
Division within the Fed has increased in recent weeks, as policymakers deliver increasingly divergent positions ahead of the central bank’s December meeting — all while Chair Jerome Powell remains conspicuously silent. The situation escalated on Friday when New York Fed President John Williams — often viewed as a bellwether for Powell’s thinking — signalled support for a rate cut, even as several other officials argued against easing policy.
The ASX 200 ended the week down another -2.5% with only the defensive natured consumer staples sector managing to eke out a small gain. It was the local market's worst week since “Liberation Day” with the index closing at its lowest level since June, on a combination of worries around stretched valuations and the direction of interest rates. On Friday, the local bourse closed 7.7% below its all-time high posted in October when the prospect of lower rates was managing to offset lingering fears around frothy valuations.
The ASX limped into the weekend, chalking up its fourth straight weekly loss. That’s a tough run by any measure, putting November’s losses at ~5% so far — the worst monthly showing since September 2022. Ongoing uncertainty around US interest rates after a slightly stronger-than-expected US labour report showed 119k jobs added vs. 50k expected, while risk off flows have knocked the likes of Bitcoin, now trading $US86k down from $US125k high.
The ASX 200 surged over 100-points on Thursday, embracing the “risk on” thematic which cascaded through global markets after Nvidia beat expectations to reignite the “AI Trade”. It was the upbeat nature of the world's largest stock that got the tech sector excited, with Nvidia trading up ~5% in post market trade pushing NASDAQ Futures +1.5% following the result and bullish outlook:
The ASX bounced from six-month lows yesterday, staging a strong move as investors piled back into stocks after Nvidia delivered blockbuster earnings that blew past expectations. The update reignited confidence in the AI thematic, helping the local market snap out of its recent slump - lifting nine of eleven sectors into the green. Unsurprisingly, tech was strong, supported by a rally in US futures, although good moves across the resources saw the material sector claim top stop – only just!
The ASX 200 posted another 5-month low on Wednesday as the banks dragged the index down by 0.25%, offsetting further gains in the materials and energy sectors. Concerns over upcoming US jobs data and Nvidia’s earnings, now the world’s largest stock, cast a long shadow over an otherwise comparatively quiet Australian market, which saw less than 3% of the main board move in either direction by more than 5%.
The local market spent the morning stabilising after yesterday’s selloff, with Nvidia’s earnings result tomorrow morning remaining in the focus. Strength across energy, gold and defensive names helped the market keep its head above water for most of the morning, until softness prevailed into the close as investors took risk off the table with a volatile session likely in store for tomorrow.
The ASX200 was unceremoniously clobbered over 160-points on Tuesday, ending the brutal session at its lowest level in five months - the index has now fallen by more than 7% from its October high.
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