The COB from ausbiz

The S&P/ASX200 closed significantly lower Wednesday, shedding 52.1 points or -0.73% to 7044.90 after setting then forgetting its 52-week high of a few days earlier. Much of note, little of consequence as local stocks deteriorated into the afternoon, despite a contrarian rally from the oft-whacked tech sector. Elsewhere it was inflation angst, budget blues and even a little equity ennui. A day...

High growth names were hosed today as inflationary concerns continue to ratchet higher. The ASX 200 index closed down 1.06%. The steepest losses were in the IT sector, led by the buy-now-pay-later names. There were few winners for the session - even with big gains overnight in the iron ore price, the miners all finished lower.  Consumer staples were the exception to the rule. REITs also...

This arvo saw a shiny new S&P/ASX 200 record, the index lifting 92 points, or 1.3%, to 7172.8, trouncing the 7162.5 from February 20, last year. Iron Ore wasn't the only commodity in the complex to rally, but between Fortescue Metals Group's 7.9% and Champion Iron's 5.4%, the rest of the materials sector just didn't seem to be putting in an effort. The big non-starter on a day o...

The S&P/ASX200 climbed 14 points on Friday, or 0.2% to 7075.70. Macquarie Bank stole the show on a slow news day, topping $3 billion in profit for the first time. The top three gainers were all travel stocks, the biggest losers Nearmap and Afterpay. China returned from an extended Labour Day holiday fuming in this country's general direction. Unfortunately, the Smack Fairy choosing that exact...

The S&P/ASX200 closed lower Thursday, dropping 0.48% to 7061.7 after resetting its 52-week high just a day earlier. Spoiled for choice, the worst of the worst was a tight run thing between: Nearmap Ltd, down 22.03% and a miserable Appen Ltd, down 20.64%.Both unfortunately now much more limited than before. Anyway, despite a bloodbath for the banks, grim tidings for gold and a terrific tech sel...

A cracking day for the local bourse with the ASX 200 closing at its highest point since February 2020. A bit of a dip late this afternoon but index still closed up 0.4% at 7,095.80. All sectors finished in the green except for tech and consumer discretionary. ANZ dropped its half-yearly results with a cash profit of $2.9 billion and interim dividend 70 cents per share. This beat many analyst...

May the 4th be with you! The force was definitely with the ASX 200 today, which closed up 0.56% thanks to higher commodity and energy prices driving the price action. Tech was the biggest loser today following similar moves in the US overnight. The weakness came despite further declines in bond yields which typically benefit the space. Market attention now turns to ANZ, which releases its half-yea...

The ASX 200 faded mid morning to close up 0.06%. It was left to the banks to save the day with weakness opening in other parts of the market. Westpac jumped more than 5% after announcing a 256% increase in profit. There was evidence of a rotation out of high flying mining stocks into some more value ends of the market. REITs and telcos performed well. Tech was hit hard again - still...

The S&P/ASX200 fell 62 points or 0.88% on Friday coming well off its 52-week high, as investors cashed in their April chips for a crack at May. Still, t'was the best month since November, climbing 3.5%. On the GDIF front: Beach Energy crashing some 23.66% after realising it's running out of energy. Majority stakeholder Seven Group Holdings down 5% after realising its BPT's majority s...

Declining bond yields and ongoing dovish remarks from the Fed helped the local market close at its highest level since the pandemic began. The XJO closed up 0.25%. Gainers were led by IT, helping to reverse some of the weakness seen earlier in the week. Materials and energy were also strong performers boosted by ongoing strength in commodity markets. REITs were the biggest losers after being one o...

The local market kicked higher this morning after a weaker than expected inflation figure. The major index finished up 0.44%, just below its pre-COVID high. All sectors rose, led by REITs, financials and energy. With that in mind, an interesting tweet from CommSec this afternoon: "6.1bn shares have changed hands today, worth $6.9bn. 675 stocks rose, 701 fell & 382 finished unchanged". It...

The S&P/ASX200 fell on Tuesday, dropping some 0.2% to 7033.80. Worst of a bad bunch: Nickel Mines down 12% and Mesoblast 8% respectively. After five days of forgettable trade the index is exactly where it was five days ago. Just older, and some would say, looking a little more tired. Not me, I'm a bourse half full person. So I leave with a reminder - the benchmark is still just 0.8% below...

A directionless start to a busy week, headlined by the Federal Reserve meeting on Thursday morning and local inflation data on Wednesday. The ASX 200 closed down 0.2%. Strength in commodity prices wasn't enough to offset weakness in other areas of the market. The banks finished marginally higher ahead of interim results from three of big four next week. Meanwhile, NIB guided the market higher with...

The local market has ended in positive territory after being positively terrible for most of the day. The S&P/ASX 200 managed to dig a 0.2% hole in early trade, which it then spent the rest of the arvo climbing out of. The spectacle that has become AMP rose sharply then slid again on the same news - the demerger that thrilled investors for about 5 minutes quickly morphed into disappo...

The ASX bounced back today with positivity returning after a couple of days of declines. The major index closed up 0.8% thanks to gains from CSL, the banks and a frothy iron ore price. Energy and utilities were the only sectors to see declines. Brambles gained 2.4% after releasing its quarterly update (6% increase in revenue and reaffirmed guidance) but Michael Wayne from Medallion Financial...

Another red day for the local bourse as the ASX 200 index closed down 0.3%. However, the closing numbers don't tell the whole story - at lunchtime, the index was down closer to 1%. Many analysts are saying that we're in a technical pullback. With all of the good news already priced in it has been an opportune time for the market take some profit off the table. Excuses posed included a surge in COV...

The ASX 200 ended its purple patch today with a drop of 0.7% - its worst day in three weeks - following an overnight sell-off on Wall St and reflecting sentiment around the region. Communications was the only sector to close in the green thanks to a 0.6% rise in Telstra as it comes back into favour with brokers. Out-of-session US futures are currently up 0.18%. The top three VODs today are: S...

Another day, another 13-month high for the ASX 200, closing up 0.03% . A strong lead in from Wall St and buoyant commodity prices helped the local open in the green and stay that way throughout the session. As well as higher spot prices, the mining sector was helped by the $4 billion merger between lithium producers Orocobre and Galaxy Minerals. Galaxy shareholders will receive 0.569 ORE stock for...

The ASX 200 flirted with positive territory this morning before spending most of the day in the red. We come home with a wet sail this afternoon to close up just 0.07% and register yet another 13-month high. REITs were the big gainers today thanks to a retraction in bond yields, with gold miners also enjoying a big day. Meanwhile, utilities and financials weighed. Our top three VODs are: Plac...

The ASX 200 headed south in early trade before building up a head of steam mid-morning and closing up 0.5% at a 13-month high of 7,058.60. The momentum continues despite a lack of themes for investors to grab hold of. Miners (with the exception of gold) and energy led the gainers while communications and utilities weighed. March jobs figures were better than expected with unemployment falling 5.6%...

A lacklustre day on the local market with the ASX 200 closing flat - up just 0.042%. The one bright spot was the the tech sector, which lifted more than 2% after the buy-now-pay-later names popped. Following widespread scepticism around valuations of the BNPL sector, it seems one has delivered on its promises. Zip Co released a quarterly update that got the market excited about its US growth prosp...

The local bourse brushed off record highs on Wall St on Friday night to close down 0.3% - clearly looking for more direction than the bond market can offer. The miners weighed with gold stocks in particular hit hard. Healthcare and communications were the winners today thanks to jumps in CSL and Telstra respectively. Our top three VODs today are: Un-four-gettable charts to buy | the trade Cav...

It's Friday and I don't mind calling these markets weak, soft and underwhelming. A damp squib performance from an S&P/ASX200 that didn't want to be there and gave up pretending. The index closed 0.2% lower, but somehow it felt worse. Probably because it so cruelly contrasted with the previous four days of consecutive gains - topped off by breaking on through to the other side of...

The ASX 200 index cracked 7,000 for just the second time in history today, before pulling back this afternoon to close at 6,998.80 - up 1.02%. The miners, banks and communications names were the winners today as the market nudged its pre-COVID record high. Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, speaks tonight but the consensus view is that the 'steady as she goes' sentiment will continue to dampen specula...

Dust off the L'il Nas CD its time to party like its February 2020, as the directionless funk we like to call the ASX 200 closes up 0.4% and - get this - makes its first fourth straight gain of 2020, all while stumbling its merry way to that sweet 13 month high. Tech, real estate and energy led the way again - in fact all sectors finished in positive territory. Payments provider, EML Payments, adde...