Morning Bell 29 July

Wall Street started the new trading week almost flat as traders looked past the EU-US trade deal that was announced and focused more on the upcoming Fed interest rate decision. The S&P500 rose just 0.02% to another fresh record high while the Dow Jones fell 0.14% and the Nasdaq ended the day up 0.33% also setting a fresh record. A trade deal has been reached between the US and EU which will see 15% tariffs on all exports from the EU bound for the US.

In Europe overnight markets closed mostly lower as the trade deal between the US and EU failed to raise investor confidence levels. The STOXX 600 fell 0.23%, Germany’s DAX fell 1.02%, the French CAC declined 0.43% and, over in the UK, the FTSE 100 ended the day down 0.43%.  

Locally on Monday the ASX 200 see-sawed throughout the first trading session of the new week before closing the day up 0.36% as investors took confidence from the S&P500 record run of late and ahead of key earnings results coming out over the coming weeks.

Uranium producer Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) tanked over 40% after the company released a fourth quarter performance update for FY25. At first glance the results looked very strong with an 18% increase in drummed uranium from the prior quarter, FY25 production totalling 872,607 pounds and second half FY25 C1 cost from drummed uranium of $36/pound. Looking deeper into the company’s announcements out yesterday though, investors likely fled the stock after the FY26 Honeymoon mine guidance was issued including increased cash costs, and potential challenges now identified that may arise.

What to watch today:

• The Australian share market is set to open lower, with the SPI futures predicting a fall of 0.7% at market open this morning
• On the commodities front this morning, oil is trading 2.68% higher at 66 US dollars and 91 cents a barrel, gold is down 0.6% at 3317 US dollars an ounce and iron ore is down 0.03% at 98 US dollars and 55 cents a tonne.

Trading ideas:

• Bell Potter has slightly reduced the 12-month price target on Step One Clothing (ASX:STP) from $1.30 to $1.25 and maintains a buy rating on the online retailer of underwear and innerwear. The analyst has reduced the price target by 4% due to Bell Potter’s earnings revision outlook factoring in a delayed recovery in the consumer spend environment.