3rd August 2020
Morning Bell - Paulina Peters
The Aussie share market is set to open flat this morning with a fall of 0.2% expected at the open, this comes despite a positive end on Wall Street on Friday.
Across the ocean, European stocks posted their first monthly drop since March amid fears of a second COVID-19 wave.
What to watch today:
- With Victoria declaring a ‘State of Disaster’ after a spike in COVID-19 cases, keep an eye on the stocks that are likely to be impacted. For example, Coles (ASX:COL) could see a lift today following reports of panic buying, while on the flipside Crown Resorts (ASX:CWN) could come under pressure, given its Melbourne casinos and hotels are unlikely to re-open until mid-September.
- Keep an eye on energy producers including Santos (ASX:STO) and Woodside Petroleum (ASX:WPL), following the oil price jumping higher.
- At one point on Friday night, we saw the gold price break above US$2,000 an ounce for the first time on record. Keep an eye on gold miners like Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) and Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) today.
Companies reporting this week:
- On Tuesday, BWP Trust (ASX:BWP) reports.
- On Wednesday, Resmed (ASX:RMD) and ALE Property Group (ASX:LEP).
- On Friday, Insurance Australia Group (ASX:IAG) reports .
Local trading ideas:
- Following Nickel Mines (ASX:NIC) releasing its June 2020 quarter report, Bell Potter has Nickel Mines as its top pick in the Diversified Metals & Mining sector. Bell Potter maintains its Buy rating on the stock and has a price target of $1.07.
- Analysts at Goldman Sachs believe Goodman Group’s (ASX:GMG) share price is overvalued and the broker has a sell rating on the stock. GMG shares closed 0.5% lower on Friday to $16.93. Goldman Sachs however has a price target of $11.25 on the property company’s shares. It believes the market is pricing in an unrealistic earnings per share growth rate of ~9% per annum between FY 2020 and FY 2024. They believe a growth rate of 6% per annum is more realistic.