What Matters Today: Iron looks & feels awful - buy more or bale out?

Yesterday saw Iron Ore plunge to its lowest level since May 2023 as China Baowu Steel Group Corp, the world’s largest steelmaker, warned of a crisis ahead in China, increasing concerns about demand just as major miners boost output. Futures of the bulk commodity subsequently dropped in Singapore for the sixth time in seven days. Hu Wangming, chairman of China Baowu Steel Group Corp., said the sector now faced a crisis more painful than the downturns of 2008 and 2015, likening conditions to a “severe winter” and highlighting a need to preserve cash. Iron ore has plunged by almost a third this year in a slump that’s made it one of the worst-performing major commodities and, by definition, sectors in the stock market.

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Morning report 06/08/2025 09:38

Portfolio Positioning: The bulls remain in charge as earnings support global equities

The ASX200 surged towards new highs on Tuesday, ending the session up +1.2%, only 6 points below its all-time high. Gains were broad-based, with over 90% of the main board advancing, led by the rate-sensitive consumer discretionary, real estate and financial stocks.

Afternoon report 05/08/2025 17:37

The Match Out: The bulls take back control – ASX up +100pts

181 stocks in the ASX 200 made gains today, all sectors were higher, intra-day dips were bought, and the market made a new all-time closing high up tripped digits – a bullish day all around as we move into local reporting season. US earnings have strong; we made the point this morning that S&P 500 companies are on track to post a +9.1% lift in profits, far above analysts’ projection of 2.8% before results began, with earnings, and importantly, positive earnings revisions ultimately driving stock prices. Now it’s our turn!

Morning report 05/08/2025 10:51

What Matters Today: Three defensives MM likes when it’s time to de-risk portfolios

The ASX200 recovered from early losses on Monday to end the session in positive territory, an impressive performance considering the Dow's more than 500-point drop on Friday night.

Afternoon report 04/08/2025 17:17

The Match Out: ASX shrugs off U.S market rout, closes flat.

The ASX opened on the backfoot this morning, however that was the worst of it, with strength amongst the miners and supermarkets offsetting weakness elsewhere. US Futures edged higher, and Asia was also well supported during our time zone, moving past the weakness we saw in US economic data on Friday.

Alerts 04/08/2025 09:53

Trade Alerts – Active Growth & Income Portfolio’s

MM is making two changes across two portfolios

Morning report 04/08/2025 09:20

Macro Monday: The Goldilocks Trade tailwind is being questioned

Since Trump unleashed chaos on global equities in April with his tariff bombshell, their recovery has been nothing short of remarkable. In just three months, the ASX200 and US S&P 500 have surged by +22% and +33% respectively. At MM, we’ve held a bullish stance through the recovery, but our confidence is now waning. The cornerstone of the stunning recovery has often been referred to as the “Goldilocks Scenario”.

Weekend report 02/08/2025 09:33

Weekend Q&A: A weak US Jobs Report weighs on stocks ahead of reporting season

The ASX200 slipped 0.1% last week after a tough Friday session, but it still ended up 2.3% for July. Earnings season is upon us, and it's already started to exert its force on the market - It's not often you see an ASX200 stock halve in the blink of an eye! We have begun the seasonally weak August-September period for the ASX, and on cue, the index has started to feel a touch soft, although 2-days doesn't make a summer.

Afternoon report 01/08/2025 17:07

The Match Out: Soft end to a choppy week for the ASX

Tariffs were back impacting the ASX today after the Whitehouse said that it will maintain a minimum global levy of 10%, while imports from countries with a trade surplus with the US will face at least 15%.

Morning report 01/08/2025 09:34

ETF Friday: ETFs to consider as the President hammers the Copper Traders

The ASX 200 ended the Thursday session down just 0.2%, recovering ~80% of its early decline, with winners and losers evenly matched. July lived up to its seasonal reputation, closing up +2.4%. If not for a -2.6% clobbering of the influential Materials Sector yesterday, we could easily have been trading at new highs.

Afternoon report 31/07/2025 17:22

The Match Out: ASX drifts lower as Materials slump on US Copper selloff

The ASX started the day on the backfoot with the materials space copping a beating after the ~20% selloff in US copper overnight as the index fell -55pts early, but the ~8700 level held well.