The Friday rally fizzles
WHAT MATTERED TODAY
The local market struggled to live up to the strong bounce seen in the US overnight. A quick test of 5700 early before the selling took hold again as the index traded in negative territory for much of the afternoon. The day’s lows of 5624 was the lowest point since Feb 2017. Some late buying did eventuate which helped the market close marginally higher – and the futures have rallied after the close. Healthcare, led by CSL and ResMed, edged higher today while the battered retail market continued its slide.
Today, ResMed (RMD) showed a solid first quarter of the year, with solid 12% year-on-year revenue growth – the stock up 3.64%. Primary Healthcare (PRY) slid -7.66% after they conducted a review into underpayments at their Medical Centres highlighted $18m worth of short payments. Challenger (CGF) sunk -4.64% after their AGM in which the CEO resigned – the market is always shaking on management standing aside.
Overall, the index closed up +1 point or +0.02% today to 5665 – down a huge -4.62% on the week. Dow Futures are trading down again, -168 points / -0.68%.
ASX 200 Chart
ASX 200 Chart
CATCHING OUR EYE
Broker Moves; Although no upgrades today, Fortescue received some positive commentary out of a few analysts following their quarterly & investor call yesterday. FMG was the best performer today, jumping +5.22% in a sign the negativity surrounding the stock may be starting to wane.
Analysts were also busy with AMP, some using yesterday’s 25% slide as a chance to buy the stock, but the consensus view is the sale won’t do enough to improve the business. AMP was down another 4.8% today, taking the total slide for the past few days to -28.1% / $0.93 to today’s close of $2.38.
RATING CHANGES;
· Northern Star Downgraded to Neutral at Macquarie; PT A$9.80
· Northern Star Downgraded to Neutral at Citi; PT A$9.25
· Northern Star Cut to Sector Perform at RBC; Price Target A$9
· Northern Star Downgraded to Hold at Canaccord; PT A$8.50
· Northern Star Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; Price Target A$9
· Nanosonics Upgraded to Add at Morgans Financial; PT A$3.32
· OceanaGold GDRs Downgraded to Neutral at Credit Suisse; PT A$4
· AMP Upgraded to Neutral at UBS; PT A$2.50
· AMP Upgraded to Buy at Morningstar
· AMP Downgraded to Neutral at Credit Suisse; PT A$2.65
· Super Retail Upgraded to Hold at Morningstar
· Carsales.com Upgraded to Buy at Morningstar
· CSL Upgraded to Buy at Morningstar
· Macquarie Group Upgraded to Buy at Morningstar
· Southern Cross Media Upgraded to Buy at Morningstar
· Medibank Private Upgraded to Buy at Morningstar
· CSR Upgraded to Buy at Morningstar
· Link Administration Upgraded to Buy at Morningstar
· Sydney Airport Upgraded to Buy at Morningstar
· Sandfire Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse; Price Target A$6.70
· Reliance Worldwide Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse
· Viva Energy Group Rated New Add at Morgans Financial; PT A$2.76
· CYBG Upgraded to Neutral at UBS
· iSelect Upgraded to Buy at Bell Potter; PT A$0.86
Sectors this week; No sector survived the onslaught this week. Surprisingly, real estate did well despite the fear of rising interest rates poking its head up. Energy slumped as oil prices rolled over.
Stocks this week; MM was fortunate enough to hold the best performer this week as Healthscope jumped on takeover talks. Lynas staged a bit of a recovery as the review by the Malaysian government plays out. On the other end, no prizes for guessing AMP was the weakest of the top 200
OUR CALLS
We were filled for our 5% allocation into Western Areas (WSA) in the Growth Portfolio today
Watch out for the weekend report. Have a great night,
Harry & the Market Matters Team
Disclosure
Market Matters may hold stocks mentioned in this report. Subscribers can view a full list of holdings on the website by clicking here. Positions are updated each Friday, or after the session when positions are traded.
Disclaimer
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