The ASX 200 did well to eke out a modest gain on Monday despite a steady stream of negative news and weakness across global equity markets. Gains in the banks almost exactly offset weakness in the miners as the news continued to weigh on the previously high-flying sector
The ASX broke a four-day losing streak today, but only just, finishing essentially flat after an early gain of around ~0.3% faded through the afternoon.
The oil price is starting to weigh heavily on bond markets and the ASX, but US stocks are taking the geopolitical unrest in its stride, despite markets now pricing in two Fed 0.25% rate hikes by Christmas.
The ASX 200 fell 2.9% last week, extending the month's decline to 3.7% - we did warn members that September is the historically weakest month of the year! For reference, the worst-performing September of the last decade was 2022, when bond yields also surged higher, and that year the index closed down 7.3%.
The ASX was looking for a floor today, and found something resembling one through midday. After four straight days of selling, the market opened under heavy pressure again, before buyers emerged through the afternoon to claw back some of the damage.
The ASX 200 was clobbered on Thursday, falling more than 1% as broad-based selling left just 20% of the main board in positive territory. However, the market did recover 77 points from its intraday low, trimming around 45% of the day’s decline by the close. Yesterday was the local market’s third consecutive decline, with a fourth likely today, and its largest daily fall in more than three months.
The ASX took a punch today, but importantly, it got back off the canvas. The index was down as much as 1.8% around midday, its worst intraday fall since March, before buyers finally emerged and trimmed almost half of the session’s worst losses. It was still a third consecutive decline and all 11 sectors finished lower, but the late recovery was the first sign in a few sessions that the market is prepared to lean into weakness (at the right price).
The ASX 200 extended September's pullback by another -0.1% on Wednesday despite a barnstorming session for the heavyweight copper miners - BHP Group (+3.3%), Sandfire (+2%) and RIO (+1.9%). However, broad-based weakness, which saw over 60% of the main board retreat, with standout selling in the CBA (-2.5%) enough to drag the index under 8900. Another strong move in oil prices, which rallied over 2% during local trade, was enough to keep buyers on the sidelines as it increasingly feels like the US has lost control of events in the Straits of Hormuz. We defer back to a comment in yesterday's report:
The ASX went on a round trip today, rising early, giving it all back and trading lower through to midday before popping in the afternoon, closing almost flat for the session. The headline index masked another fairly weak session underneath, with the banks and Healthcare under pressure while Energy and Materials did most of the heavy lifting with the Big Australian and Rio keeping the index afloat accounting for +30pts of gain between the two heavyweights.
September is living up to its seasonally weak reputation, with the ASX 200 falling another 1% on Tuesday to close at a fresh six-week low. Local stocks endured their worst session in three months as selling swept across the market, as more than 65% of the main board closed lower, with the banks doing the most damage, accounting for roughly half of the index’s decline.
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