BPO TV

26th March 2024

Morning Bell - Grady Wulff

Wall St started the week in negative territory as US equities took a breather from record territory with the Dow Jones ending Monday’s session down 0.41%, the S&P500 lost 0.31% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.27%. United Airlines fell 3.4% after the Federal Aviation Administration announced it would be increasing its scrutiny of the carrier after a series of safety incidents.

Over in Europe, markets closed mixed across the board on Monday as investors continued digesting central bank moves in the region to gauge how the battle against inflation is faring. The STOXX600 rose 0.04% to extend on its record close from Friday driven by oil and gas stocks rising on a rebound in the price of the two key commodities. Germany’s DAX rose 0.3% on Monday while the French CAC closed flat and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended Monday’s session down 0.17%.

Across the Asia markets overnight, it was mostly a sea of red as investors assessed the release of key inflation data for the region. Singapore and Malaysia both released key inflation reports that came in higher than anticipated while Tokyo’s inflation numbers are due to be released on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.16% on Monday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.16%, and South Korea’s Kospi slid 0.4% at the closing bell.

Locally yesterday, the ASX200 rallied 0.5% to push the key index above 7800 points again, led by a rise in interest rate sensitive sectors like technology and REIT stocks as optimism for interest rate cuts continues to rise. The rise in sentiment follows a statement released on the back of the RBA’s latest meeting indicating Australia’s central bank appears to be less hawkish than first though with regards to interest rate cuts.

The rising price of oil prompted investors to buy back into the mining giants like Santos which added 1.1% and Woodside which rose 1.2% on Monday.

Reports out of Fortescue that the mining giant is looking to develop its copper assets led to a 3.2% rise in the Andrew Forrest run mining company on Monday.

What to watch today:

  • Ahead of Tuesday’s trading session here in Australia, the SPI futures are expecting the ASX to open the session 0.37% lower following the slide on Wall St overnight.
  • On the commodities front this morning oil is trading 1.55% higher at US$81.88/barrel, gold is up 0.32% at US$2171/ounce, and iron ore is trading flat at US$111.50/tonne.
  • AU$1.00 is buying US$0.65, 99 Japanese Yen, 51.69 British Pence and NZ$1.09.

Trading Ideas:

  • Bell Potter has initiated coverage of Cleanaway Waste Management (ASX:CWY) with a buy rating and a 12-month price target of $3.10 with Bell Potter’s analyst optimistic on the growth opportunity for CWY through its three-year pathway to $450m+ EBIT under its ‘Blueprint 2030’ strategy. The analyst also expects to see recovery in C&I waste generation and labour productivity potentially presenting as further tailwinds.
  • And Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Endeavour Group (ASX:EDV) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 20 days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may rise from the close of $5.34 to the range of $5.82 to $5.92 according to standard principles of technical analysis.