Viewpoint: Bullish
CBA rallied +0.7% yesterday, nothing particularly eye-catching on the surface but through thick and thin CBA has remained firm this year, it tested its 2022 high yesterday, only ~3% below its all-time milestone posted in 2021.
The ASX200 experienced a quiet start to the penultimate week of November which saw winners and losers match each other almost perfectly, the index ultimately slipped -0.2% to add to the consolidation of the market since testing 7200 last week. The ongoing sector rotation continues in a predictable fashion depending on strength/weakness in…
The UK FTSE edged higher last week and we see no reason to doubt our view that the index can punch through and test the 7700 area over the coming weeks – so much for rhyme and reason when it comes to politics, economics, and equities!
Last week again saw US stocks play 2nd fiddle to the ASX primarily due to their lack of resources and heavy exposure to tech, the S&P500 remains well below its August high and it’s now looking increasingly unlikely to exceed the milestone that the local index surpassed earlier this month.
The ASX200 took a breather last week as uncertainty crept into the market even with the fabled December now only 10-days away, importantly with the index having already reached our 7200 target area we believe the “easy money” from the October low is well and truly behind us. We anticipate a grind higher with more action unfolding on the stock/sector level where selling strength is our preferred stance until further notice.
US stocks slipped lower overnight but they closed well off their lows, a good sign that at current levels the market can absorb bad news such as further hawkish comments from Fed members. If equities can withstand talk of higher interest rates from prominent players the path of least resistance is still feeling on the upside.
On-line recruitment business SEK, which MM recently added to its Flagship Growth Portfolio, held its AGM yesterday and it was a pleasant steady as she goes message as the company stuck to its guidance across the board while applications per ad have improved. Over the longer term we are concerned about the improving quality of a number of SEK’s rivals but after almost halving we like the stock’s current risk/reward.
The ASX200 rallied +0.2% on Thursday with over 70% of the main board advancing, unfortunately, weakness across the influential resources stocks restrained a generally enthusiastic market e.g. Woodside Energy (WDS) -2.2%, BHP Group (BHP) -1.5%, Sandfire Resources (SFR) -3% and South32 (S32) -5.2%. It’s a touch boring but the story…
PPT -12.63%, PDL +10.54%: Another twist in this ongoing tussle today with the pendulum swinging back in favour of Pendal. This morning saw a number of announcements including a court ruling regarding the proposed merger. The key points being:
ALU +2.38%: Held their AGM today and reconfirmed their FY23 guidance for revenue $255m to 265m, and still sees underlying EBITDA margin 35% to 37%. They talked to a solid first four months of fiscal 2023 year across the business with higher average revenue per user (ARPU) for PCB subscriptions as mainstream customers continue to adopt Pro-level…
