Morning Bell 6 August

In the US today so far, Wall St closed lower as investors digested weak economic data against the latest tariff threats out of President Trump. ISM services index data flatlined for July adding to stagflation concerns in the US while stocks also came under pressure after Trump told CNBC that tariffs on chips and pharmaceuticals are coming soon. The S&P 500 ended the day down 0.5%, the Nasdaq dropped 0.65% and the Dow Jones ended the session down 0.14%.

In Europe overnight, markets in the region closed mostly higher despite President Trump saying he will unveil new tariffs in the near future. The STOXX 600 rose 0.1%, Germany’s DAX added 0.4%, the French CAC fell 0.1% and, in the UK, the FTSE 100 ended the day up 0.1%.
Across the Asia region on Tuesday markets closed higher led by South Korea’s Kospi index adding 1.6%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.92%, China’s CSI index added 0.4% and Japan’s Nikkei ended the day up 0.64%.

The local market started the new trading week in the green with a 1.23% surge on Tuesday as all sectors ended the day in positive territory following strength on Wall St on Monday night. Discretionary and financials were the best performing sectors with gains of 1.81% and 1.49% respectively, while staples managed the lowest gain with 0.34%.

Australian consumer confidence rose to 90.6 points, the highest since May 2022, following easing inflation data and expectations of an interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia. The ANZ-Roy Morgan index saw significant improvements in both current and future financial conditions, with a 0.25% rate reduction anticipated this month.

Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX) plunged over 8% after it flagged higher operating expenses in the first half of the fiscal year to be around 36% of revenue for 1H25.

Austal (ASX:ASB) added over 7.5% as it finalised its agreement with the federal government to become the country’s leading defence shipbuilder. The company also impressed investors with a guidance update for FY25 with the new guidance expectation for EBIT of no less than $100m for the 12-months, higher than the previous guidance of no less than $80m.

And Electro Optic Systems (ASX:EOS) rocketed 43% on Tuesday after announcing it has secured an order for a drone defence capability based on a new type of high-power laser, to the value of $125m (71.4million euros) from a European NATO Member State. The order is a world first export order for a 100-kilowatt class laser defence system.

What to watch today:

• On the commodities front this morning, oil is trading 1.66% lower at US$65.20/barrel, gold is up 0.16% at US$3379/ounce and iron ore is up 1.21% at US$100.77/tonne.
• The Aussie dollar has strengthened against the greenback to buy 64.72 US cents, 95.56 Japanese Yen, 48.62 British Pence and 1 New Zealand dollar and 10 cents.
• Ahead of the midweek trading session the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the new trading day up 0.13.

Trading ideas:

• Bell Potter has significantly increased the 12-month price target on Electro Optic Systems (ASX:EOS) from $3.75 to $5.00 and maintain a buy rating on the defence manufacturer after the company secured its latest order valued at 71.4m euro. The new laser counter-drone capability was developed by EOS to address the urgent market need and emerging strategic requirement to defend against drone swarm attacks at an economical cost.
• And Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on AGL Energy (ASX:AGL) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 34-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may rise from the close of $10.00 to the range of $10.45 to $10.55 according to standard principles of technical analysis.