Between the Bells

On Friday the ASX200 dropped 0.6%, with the tech sector down the most, after making solid gains earlier in the week.  Some big tech names were among the worst performing stocks, including Tyro Payments (ASX:TYR), EML Payments (ASX:EML), Zip (ASX:Z1P) and Block (ASX:SQ2).  Meanwhile, gold miners made the most gains as the spot price rose. Perseus Mining (ASX:PRU), Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) and Gold...

The Russian invasion of Ukraine escalated this week, however the Aussie share market managed to gain 2.2% (Mon-Thu).    In this week’s wrap, Sophia covers:  (0:10) How countries and companies are disarming Russia (1:58) Why conflict based sell-offs are typically short-lived (2:44) Energy producers and miners making solid gains (3:20) Zip (ASX:Z1P) falling 15% after announcing Sezzle takeover (3:59...

The energy sector continued to gain, supported by the rising oil price. Energy prices are on the rise, with the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, one of the world’s largest energy producers. Energy closed 4.9% higher yesterday and materials closed 3% higher.  Economic growth data was also released yesterday. The Australia economy saw its strongest lift since 1976. GDP grew by 3.4% in th...

The ASX200 closed 0.7% higher, with tech once again in the lead, with investors moving back into tech. This was after a rally by the Nasdaq and coincided with a drop in the US 2-year Treasury yield. Meanwhile utilities declined the most. Investors were also conscious of the RBA’s meeting yesterday. The RBA held the cash rate at 0.1% and mentioned that the Russia – Ukraine war is a major source of...

Yesterday the ASX200 closed in the green, with eight of the eleven industry sectors higher. The materials and energy sectors lead the market yesterday, underpinned by strong oil prices.  On the ASX200 leaderboard, Blackmores (ASX:BKL) gained the most, rebounding from the previous session. On Friday BKL dropped 10.5% following its earnings report, before bouncing back on Monday and closing 9.8% hig...

On Friday the tech sector made a comeback, advancing more than 8% following Block’s quarterly results.  Block (ASX:SQ2) is the US payment company that acquired Afterpay last month, and its ASX listed shares jumped 32.5% on Friday to $153.75. Quarterly revenue surpassed analysts’ forecasts, increasing 29% higher than the year prior. Life360 (ASX:360) was another top performer. Now on Thursday, 360...

The Aussie share market fell 3.2% (Mon-Thu), weighed down by Thursday's loss, the market's worst day since September 2020. Consumer staples managed to advance more than 4%, while tech shares dropped 10%. In this week’s wrap, Sophia covers: (0:12) The Russia-Ukraine war and its impact on oil prices (1:58) Why Cimic Group's (ASX:CIM) share price jumped 35% (3:11) Life360 (ASX:360) fal...

The Aussie share market managed to advance 0.6% yesterday. Nine of the eleven industry sectors posted gains, with the tech sector advancing the most. On the flip side, the real estate sector and utilities sector posted small losses.  On the ASX200 leaderboard, HUB24 (ASX:HUB) lifted nearly 10% off the back of its solid half-year results. The investment advice company experienced a record inflow of...

Amid heighted concerns for the Russia and Ukraine conflict, the ASX200 closed 1% lower yesterday. Only energy, consumer staples and healthcare sectors managed to post gains. Tech shares declined the most, sensitive to expectations of tighter monetary policy.  Cochlear (ASX:COH) advanced 9%, closing at $207.37, after a positive earnings report. This included a 20% rise in underlying net profit, as...

The Aussie share market started the new trading week in the green, closing 0.16% higher yesterday, as news came in mid-session that the US and Russian President have agreed to meet, which eased some fears of an imminent invasion of Ukraine.  Sectors wise, the utilities sector led the way, lifting over 3%. Most of the other sectors also rose, except for the tech sector, healthcare sector, and consu...

On Friday the local market fell just over 1%. All industry sectors closed in the red, with utilities and healthcare falling the most.  On the ASX200 leader board, Magellan Financial Group (ASX:MFG) gained over 18%, after reporting a profit and dividend increase. MFG’s half-year earnings beat market forecasts with NPAT of $251.6 million, up 24% from this time last year, and an interim dividend $1.1...

The Aussie share market advanced over 1% this week (Mon-Thu), with CSL's (ASX:CSL) strong report helping the healthcare sector rally more than 7%.  In this week’s wrap, Sophia covers: (0:46) Sims' (ASX:SGM) share price up over 20% after strong results (1:20) Gold companies performing well as the gold price lifts  (2:00) Why other major mining stocks fell (5:19) Three company results whic...

The ASX200 advanced 1.1% yesterday, powered by strong earnings results from companies like CSL (ASX:CSL), Treasury Wine Estates (ASX:TWE) and Vicinity Centres (ASX:VCX). The gains managed to offset losses from major resource stocks, following falls in both iron ore and oil prices.  Sectors wise, the healthcare sector led the way, supported by CSL’s strong gain, while the materials and energy secto...

The ASX200 closed slightly lower yesterday, as the energy sector lost over 3%, even with the price of oil improving again yesterday. However, energy has been performing very well, so yesterday’s fall may be due to investors taking profits. A few sectors still rose, including tech, real estate, consumer staples and discretionary, communication and industrials. Sims (ASX:SGM) shares jumped 13.7% off...

Yesterday, the Aussie share market managed to claw back some of its losses from Friday, gaining 0.37%. Leading the gains were oil and gold stocks, following escalating fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Looking at the sector performances, only six out of 11 sectors closed higher. The energy sector gained the most, up over 3%, while the healthcare sector declined 1.4%.   Gold miners dominated...

Despite US inflation data reaching a 40-year high, Australian shares gained for the second consecutive week. However, on Friday the ASX200 dropped 1%, with all but the materials sectors in the red. US consumer inflation for January rose 7.5%, far above the expected figure. The S&P US 2-year and 10-year treasury bond indices fell 0.5% and 1% in response. Goldman Sachs economists have increased...

The Aussie share market rallied this week, lifting 2.36% (Mon-Thu). However, as US inflation came in at a 40-year high on Thursday evening, Aussie investors will feel the pressure on Friday.    In this week’s wrap, Sophia covers:  (0:40) Why travel stocks are back in vogue (1:04) Nanosonics (ASX:NAN) falling 7% after a sales agreement revision (2:18) Opportunities in the hydrogen market (5:10) How...

Yesterday, the Aussie share market charged over 1% higher to 7,268 points. That marks a two-week high for the benchmark ASX200 index. The lift follows CBA’s strong half-year results, which also helped the other major banks post decent gains. Looking at the sector performances, the tech sector outperformed, up 4.2%, after it took a solid lead from Wall Street, while both the materials sector and en...

Yesterday the ASX200 closed in the green. The materials sector made strong gains as iron ore in the spot market rose. Meanwhile tech shares declined the most, as Australia’s 10-year bond yield exceeded 2.1%, reaching the highest level since the beginning of 2019. This saw a sell-off in tech stocks, which tend to be more sensitive to interest rates. On the ASX200, travel stocks gained for a second...

Yesterday, the Aussie share market posted a small loss of 0.13%, in what was a choppy session. ANZ reported worse-than-expected first quarter margins, which saw its share price decline nearly 2% and the Australian government announced that our international COVID-19 border closures would end on February 21.  Looking at the sector performances, the energy sector outperformed, up 1.6%, benefitting f...

On Friday, the local market ended a three-week losing streak, with 10 of the 11 industry sectors rising higher. The ASX200 gained 0.6% on Friday, as reporting season kicked off. Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) gained over 6%. After the market close on Thursday, the company announced the completion of its share purchase plan (SPP). News Corp (ASX:NWS) reporting its highest earnings since its separatio...

The Aussie share market has managed to post an impressive gain of 1.3% this week (Mon-Thu). Leading the gains were the energy and the utilities sectors, while the tech sector declined slightly.    In this week’s wrap, Sophia covers:  (0:28) Nufarm (ASX:NUF) gaining after posting revenue growth in Q1 (1:16) Why Ansell (ASX:ANN) experienced a large sell-off (2:04) The ETFs Bell Direct clients were t...

Yesterday, the Aussie share market continued its positive streak in February, closing 1.2% higher to pop back over 7,000 points. We also heard from RBA Governor Philip Lowe, who stated that a rate rise later this year was a plausible situation. And BHP (ASX:BHP) once again became the largest company on the Aussie share market after officially completing the unification of its Australian and UK lis...

Yesterday local shares rose 0.5% after the RBA, in its first meeting of the year, formally ended its quantitative easing program, as inflation rises faster than expected. This was the bond buying program introduced in late 2020, as an emergency measure during the pandemic, which kept bonds anchored near record lows, to help keep borrowing costs for households and businesses low. And as expected, t...

Yesterday, the Aussie share market closed 0.24% lower to 6,971 points in what was a choppy session for the benchmark index. For the month of January, the ASX200 posted a 6.3% loss, its biggest monthly drop since COVID-19 first hit nearly two years ago. Looking at sector performance, the market was mixed. The tech sector managed to post an impressive gain of 3.7%, while the financials and consumer...