The anticipated path of central banks continues to dominate the swings by stocks as they react to the continual flow of volatile economic data and accompanying rhetoric from the likes of the Fed & RBA. The correlation is very clear with the ASX rallying strongly when bond yields fell in early 2023 only to reverse when yields reversed higher earlier this month.
The ASX200 continues to face headwinds around the 7300 area but when we take into account what was thrown at the index yesterday the minor -0.4% pullback felt like a solid performance, the broad market actually rallied with nearly 60% of the main board finishing up on the day but when heavyweight BHP Group (BHP) tumbles -3.4% the result is almost inevitable – more on this and related names later.
The ASX200 put in a brave performance yesterday closing down just -0.3% in the process shrugging off a -2% drop by the US S&P500 plus Commonwealth Bank (CBA) trading ex-dividend $2.10 fully franked. The catalyst for the market’s impressive intra-day recovery was the wage data released at 11.30 am which showed wages are rising far less than expected and importantly well below the current rate of inflation i.e. everyone’s already getting worse off without the help of the RBA!
A peak Cash Rate close to 4% had been MM’s target for 2023 but after reading the minutes from this month’s RBA Meeting it now feels highly likely that Philip Lowe et al will push the local economy over the proverbial cliff in an attempt to crush inflation – shame it wasn’t more forward-thinking post-COVID as it ignored clear signs that inflation was on the loose i.e. one shop at Woolies would have told the tale!
The ASX200 trod water on Monday with the index rotating in a very tight 26-point range however beneath the hood it was a very different story with reporting season providing its usual volatility e.g. Inghams (ING) +11.%, NIB Holdings (NHF) -11.6%, and BlueScope (BSL) -10%. As we approach the halfway mark in this reporting calendar winners are ahead of losers by a nose but with Commonwealth Bank (CBA) falling over 8% last week after disappointing the market its no surprise that the index has struggled of late – with BHP Group (BHP) facing the music today the story looks poised for its next chapter.
If we are correct this merry-go-round of market opinion will dominate 2023 as economists and investors alike attempt to 2nd guess the Fed, RBA, BOE & Co. The RBA Chair Philip Lowe has become increasingly hawkish as the year evolves with the senate hearing not dampening his aggressive stance towards inflation. In our opinion it’s simply a year to watch for elastic bands stretching too far and fading the respective moves whether it be too hawkish, dovish focused on a recession, a recovery, or rate cuts in 2024 – they are all probably going come into play this year in one form or another.
The ASX200 delivered another fascinating session on Thursday with 8% of the main board moving by over 5%, with the winners dominating 15-1 it wasn’t surprising to see the index close up +0.8%, even with Commonwealth Bank (CBA) falling another -1.5%. Under the hood, the IT and Consumer Discretionary Sectors were the standouts both rallying +2.7% - interesting to see the interest rate-sensitive stocks outperform in a week when short-term bond yields are making 4-month highs.
The ASX200 tumbled over -1% yesterday after Commonwealth Bank (CBA) dragged both the sector and index lower, by the close the “Big 4” banks were responsible for over two-thirds of the main index’s 78-point fall. During the day we saw noticeably large volume through the futures market as nervous investors appeared to move to the sidelines following the market’s +9.6% rally from its early January low – in just 8 trading days the local market has surrendered over 200 points or 3%.
The ASX200 followed US indices higher at the start of Tuesday but from 10.30 am onwards it slowly but surely slipped lower losing almost 80% of its original gains, a couple of big hits on the stock level appeared to weigh on overall sentiment e.g. Star Entertainment (SGR) -13.5%, Ansell (ANN) -8.7% and Breville (BRG) -4.7%. Earnings season hasn’t helped a tired market that’s already rallied +18% from its October low, however, it’s been interest rate expectations that’s weighed heaviest on risk assets over recent weeks, yesterday we saw NAB forecast that the RBA would hike rates up to 4.1% and suddenly we have a new “handle” that is largely being accepted.
The ASX200 slipped -0.2% yesterday but in a similar fashion to US stocks on Friday we saw some buying surface into the close, especially through the futures. While the local market was down all-day only 55% of the main board closed lower although there was a negative undercurrent to proceedings as the Consumer Discretionary stocks continued to struggle, their woes were compounded by a bearish outlook from JB Hi-Fi (JBH) which saw the electronics retailer tumble over 5% - more on this later.
The ASX200 continues to face headwinds around the 7300 area but when we take into account what was thrown at the index yesterday the minor -0.4% pullback felt like a solid performance, the broad market actually rallied with nearly 60% of the main board finishing up on the day but when heavyweight BHP Group (BHP) tumbles -3.4% the result is almost inevitable – more on this and related names later.
The ASX200 put in a brave performance yesterday closing down just -0.3% in the process shrugging off a -2% drop by the US S&P500 plus Commonwealth Bank (CBA) trading ex-dividend $2.10 fully franked. The catalyst for the market’s impressive intra-day recovery was the wage data released at 11.30 am which showed wages are rising far less than expected and importantly well below the current rate of inflation i.e. everyone’s already getting worse off without the help of the RBA!
A peak Cash Rate close to 4% had been MM’s target for 2023 but after reading the minutes from this month’s RBA Meeting it now feels highly likely that Philip Lowe et al will push the local economy over the proverbial cliff in an attempt to crush inflation – shame it wasn’t more forward-thinking post-COVID as it ignored clear signs that inflation was on the loose i.e. one shop at Woolies would have told the tale!
The ASX200 trod water on Monday with the index rotating in a very tight 26-point range however beneath the hood it was a very different story with reporting season providing its usual volatility e.g. Inghams (ING) +11.%, NIB Holdings (NHF) -11.6%, and BlueScope (BSL) -10%. As we approach the halfway mark in this reporting calendar winners are ahead of losers by a nose but with Commonwealth Bank (CBA) falling over 8% last week after disappointing the market its no surprise that the index has struggled of late – with BHP Group (BHP) facing the music today the story looks poised for its next chapter.
If we are correct this merry-go-round of market opinion will dominate 2023 as economists and investors alike attempt to 2nd guess the Fed, RBA, BOE & Co. The RBA Chair Philip Lowe has become increasingly hawkish as the year evolves with the senate hearing not dampening his aggressive stance towards inflation. In our opinion it’s simply a year to watch for elastic bands stretching too far and fading the respective moves whether it be too hawkish, dovish focused on a recession, a recovery, or rate cuts in 2024 – they are all probably going come into play this year in one form or another.
The ASX200 delivered another fascinating session on Thursday with 8% of the main board moving by over 5%, with the winners dominating 15-1 it wasn’t surprising to see the index close up +0.8%, even with Commonwealth Bank (CBA) falling another -1.5%. Under the hood, the IT and Consumer Discretionary Sectors were the standouts both rallying +2.7% - interesting to see the interest rate-sensitive stocks outperform in a week when short-term bond yields are making 4-month highs.
The ASX200 tumbled over -1% yesterday after Commonwealth Bank (CBA) dragged both the sector and index lower, by the close the “Big 4” banks were responsible for over two-thirds of the main index’s 78-point fall. During the day we saw noticeably large volume through the futures market as nervous investors appeared to move to the sidelines following the market’s +9.6% rally from its early January low – in just 8 trading days the local market has surrendered over 200 points or 3%.
The ASX200 followed US indices higher at the start of Tuesday but from 10.30 am onwards it slowly but surely slipped lower losing almost 80% of its original gains, a couple of big hits on the stock level appeared to weigh on overall sentiment e.g. Star Entertainment (SGR) -13.5%, Ansell (ANN) -8.7% and Breville (BRG) -4.7%. Earnings season hasn’t helped a tired market that’s already rallied +18% from its October low, however, it’s been interest rate expectations that’s weighed heaviest on risk assets over recent weeks, yesterday we saw NAB forecast that the RBA would hike rates up to 4.1% and suddenly we have a new “handle” that is largely being accepted.
The ASX200 slipped -0.2% yesterday but in a similar fashion to US stocks on Friday we saw some buying surface into the close, especially through the futures. While the local market was down all-day only 55% of the main board closed lower although there was a negative undercurrent to proceedings as the Consumer Discretionary stocks continued to struggle, their woes were compounded by a bearish outlook from JB Hi-Fi (JBH) which saw the electronics retailer tumble over 5% - more on this later.
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