End of Day Report – Wednesday 17 April: Gold Shares Finally Perk Up

ASX 200 closes down 7 to 7606 (-0.1%) in an anaemic bounce snuffed out at the close despite better US futures. Nerves surrounding Israel continue. Banks staged a slight recovery as BOQ beat forecasts despite a dividend cut, up 5.2%. The Big Bank Basket rose slightly to $199.04 (+0.2%). MQG slid another 1.0% with insurers finding friends as QBE rose 1.4% and SUN up 1.3%. REITs mixed too with GMG up 0.5% and SGP down 0.7%.  Healthcare mixed CSL down 0.8%, with RMD up 0.7%. Industrials were generally firm but uninspiring. WES up 0.7%, WOW and COL barely changed. Tech was better, with the All-Tech Index up 0.1% as XRO rose 0.7%. Retailers bouncing back too. In resources, BHP weighed in iron ore with a 1.2% loss. Gold shares finally perked up, with EVN shooting 7.5% higher on production numbers and falling AISC. Lithium stocks also slightly higher and LYC up 5.9% on Hancock stake. RNU up 26.5% in the graphite space after a government loan to develop Siviour. Oil and gas remain under pressure in the majors. Coal stocks slightly higher. In corporate news, RIO disappointed slightly with production numbers, DRO soared 18.5% on NATO news on drone orders. In economic news, nothing locally, Asian LNG prices hit highs not seen since January. Asian markets still suffering from the strong USD. Japan down 1.3%, China up 1.4% and HK off 0.5%. 10Y yields higher again at 4.38%. Dow Futures down 55 points. NASDAQ Futures down 82 points.

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