Morning Wrap: ASX 200 to rise, gold stocks set to tumble, S&P 500 snaps 6-day losing streak
ASX 200 futures are trading 26 points lower, down -0.34% as of 8:30 am AEST.
Major US benchmarks attempted to bounce overnight from their worst week of the year, gold prices suffered a rare tumble, UBS downgraded 6 megacap US tech stocks, Tesla continues to aggressively cut EV prices and Wesfarmers is running the ruler over Ramsay Healthcare.
Let's dive in.
Overnight Summary
Fri 26 Apr 24, 8:23am (AEST)
| Name | Value | % Chg | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major Indices | |||
| S&P 500 | 5,048 | -0.46% | |
| Dow Jones | 38,086 | -0.98% | |
| NASDAQ Comp | 15,612 | -0.64% | |
| Russell 2000 | 1,981 | -0.72% | |
| Country Indices | |||
| Canada | 21,885 | +0.05% | |
| China | 3,053 | +0.27% | |
| Germany | 17,917 | -0.95% | |
| Hong Kong | 17,285 | +0.48% | |
| India | 74,339 | +0.66% | |
| Japan | 37,628 | -2.16% | |
| United Kingdom | 8,079 | +0.48% | |
| Name | Value | % Chg | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commodities (USD) | |||
| Gold | 2,342.5 | +0.18% | |
| Iron Ore | 109.68 | +0.41% | |
| Copper | 4.5175 | +1.35% | |
| WTI Oil | 83.57 | +0.92% | |
| Currency | |||
| AUD/USD | 0.6519 | +0.34% | |
| Cryptocurrency | |||
| Bitcoin (AUD) | 99,241 | +0.64% | |
| Ethereum (AUD) | 4,861 | +0.78% | |
| Miscellaneous | |||
| US 10 Yr T-bond | 4.706 | +1.16% | |
| VIX | 15.37 | -3.76% | |
US Sectors
Fri 26 Apr 24, 8:23am (AEST)
| SECTOR | % CHG |
|---|---|
| Materials | +0.69% |
| Energy | +0.50% |
| Industrials | +0.29% |
| Utilities | +0.27% |
| Information Technology | +0.15% |
| Consumer Discretionary | -0.20% |
| SECTOR | % CHG |
|---|---|
| Consumer Staples | -0.29% |
| Financials | -0.51% |
| Real Estate | -0.52% |
| Health Care | -0.62% |
| Communication Services | -4.02% |
S&P 500 SESSION CHART
S&P 500 opens higher, closes off best levels (Source: TradingView)
MARKETS
S&P 500 higher, breaks six-day losing streak but closes off session highs of 1.44%
S&P 500 has experienced its biggest pullback since the regional banking crisis in Mar-23
Lack of further escalation in the Middle East, improved second-half of April seasonality and lower bar for big tech earnings viewed as supportive for a bounce attempt
Gold down almost 3%, marking its worst day since Feb-23
Recent drawdown still only 5.5% compared to last year’s 10.2% correction and the 16% average intra-year drawdown since 1928 (The Market Ear)
Big Tech under increasing pressure to deliver on AI contribution to revenues and profits (Bloomberg)
UBS downgrades Big 6 tech stocks on weakening earnings momentum (Bloomberg)
“... Investors attribute the run in mega cap stocks to animal spirits and the impact of AI; however, our work indicates that surging earnings momentum .. fueled this upside. Unfortunately, this momentum is collapsing, with Big 6 EPS growth expected to decline from 42% to 16% over the next year ...”
Strategists split on if US companies can deliver on robust earnings forecasts for this year (Bloomberg)
Friday's pullback in US stocks to test dip buyers (Reuters)
Energy sector receives upgrade from Citi amid geopolitical tensions (CNBC)
ASX TODAY
ASX 200 to extend gains as Middle East tensions ease, bond yield run up takes a breather and strong lead in from Wall Street
The market is bouncing from oversold conditions while bond yields remain uncomfortably high (i.e. US 2-year Treasury yield sits at 4.97%) – More data is needed to see if this is a genuine low or just an oversold bounce
Gold stocks set to sell off sharply, NYSE-listed Newmont down 4% overnight and VanEck Gold Miners ETF down 4.5%
Premier Investments raises Myer stake to 31.37% from 28.79% (PMV)
Telstra to conduct strategic review on Telstra Health (AFR)
Wesfarmers considering bid for Ramsay Health Care (The Aus)
Westpac says first-half FY24 NPAT to be reduced by $164m due to notable items including unrealised fair value gains and losses on economic hedges (WBC)
INTERNATIONAL STOCKS
Tesla follows up US price cuts with similar moves for other major markets including China and Germany (Bloomberg)
Tesla cuts newly-formed US ads team (Bloomberg)
Nike reveres course amid stalling innovation and competitive pressure from rivals (WSJ)
Clothing store, Express, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, to close 100 stores (CNBC)
Delta hikes staff salaries by another 5%, starting wage now at US$19 per hour (CNBC)
TikTok getting ready for legal battle against US after House passes divest-or-ban bill (FT)
CENTRAL BANKS
ECB officials worried Fed-style dot plot would invite political pressure (Reuters)
ECB's Villeroy says oil uncertainty won't stop June rate cut (Bloomberg)
SNB raises required reserves for banks to 4% vs 2.5% to reduce payouts (Bloomberg)
GEOPOLITICS
China braces to become punchbag at US election (Bloomberg)
US Commerce Secretary says Huawei's latest phone shows China behind US in cutting-edge chip technology (Bloomberg)
ECONOMY
China's benchmark lending rates kept unchanged in April (WSJ)
Industry ETFs
Fri 26 Apr 24, 8:23am (AEST)
| Name | Value | % Chg | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commodities | |||
| Gold Miners | 34.33 | +3.65% | |
| Copper Miners | 45.98 | +3.09% | |
| Strategic Metals | 49.81 | +1.16% | |
| Lithium & Battery Tech | 42.2 | +0.74% | |
| Silver | 25.06 | +0.64% | |
| Uranium | 29.18 | +0.45% | |
| Steel | 69.2056 | -0.22% | |
| Industrials | |||
| Aerospace & Defense | 129.01 | +0.39% | |
| Global Jets | 20.48 | +0.24% | |
| Construction | 69.37 | -0.09% | |
| Agriculture | 26.17 | -1.39% | |
| Healthcare | |||
| Cannabis | 5.15 | +0.78% | |
| Biotechnology | 125.67 | -1.64% | |
| Name | Value | % Chg | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cryptocurrency | |||
| Bitcoin | 28.22 | +1.33% | |
| Renewables | |||
| Hydrogen | 4.95 | -1.00% | |
| CleanTech | 8.44 | -1.06% | |
| Solar | 39.79 | -1.29% | |
| Technology | |||
| Semiconductor | 212.41 | +1.86% | |
| Electric Vehicles | 22.87 | -0.17% | |
| Video Games/eSports | 59.9 | -0.42% | |
| Sports Betting/Gaming | 16.7433 | -0.45% | |
| E-commerce | 22.7 | -0.57% | |
| Robotics & AI | 29.34 | -0.74% | |
| Cloud Computing | 20.37 | -1.07% | |
| Cybersecurity | 28.28 | -1.36% | |
| FinTech | 25.39 | -1.74% | |
Key Events
Companies trading ex-dividend:
Tue 23 April: Naomi Cotton (NAM) – $0.01
Wed 24 April None
Thu 25 April: None
Fri 26 April: None
Mon 29 April: Acrow (ACF) – $0.029
Other ASX corporate actions today:
Dividends paid: None
Listing: None
Economic calendar (AEST):
9:00 am: Australia Manufacturing and Services PMI (Apr)
5:30 pm: Germany Manufacturing and Services PMI (Apr)
6:30 pm: UK Manufacturing and Services PMI (Apr)