Marcus Today End of Day Podcast – Wednesday 24th May

The ASX 200 decided to take a nosedive today, closing down 46 points (-0.6%) to 7214, marking the third consecutive session down as market sentiment sours. Tech rally came to an end. All-Tech Index fell 0.9%. XRO hot streak finally cooled, off 1.5%, SQ2 and CPU found some support up 0.7% and 0.2%. Gold and Energy stocks were the winners today, riding the wave of stronger oil and bullion prices. NCM up 0.6%, PRU up 0.8%, STX rising 4.3%, and STO firmer 1.4%. Mining and Materials decided to dig themselves into a hole today, as prices for base metals took a downward slide. BHP -2.2%, RIO -2.1% and FMG down 4.1%. Lithium stocks are broadly down, MIN down 3.0%, PLS off 1.7%, while AKE in demand up 0.7%. Financials failed to hold onto yesterday’s gains, down 0.2%. CBA is the only major bank in positive territory, up 0.5%, NAB, ANZ, WBC and MQG all down. Healthcare stumbled, CSL down 1.2% and RHC down 0.8%. Insurers mixed, QBE -1.3%, MPL +0.9%, and SUN +0.5%. REITS off 0.9%, while bonds firm.

In corporate news, UNI tanked 23.9%, after flagging subdued trading will persist into next fiscal year, despite on track to deliver record sales, QAN +1.9% on broker updates, and WEB rose 3.8% on positive results, revenue rose 164%.

In economic news, Westpac Melbourne Institute Leading economic index came in flat at 97.27 in April, marginally down from 97.3 in March; the result suggests a continuation of an ongoing economic slowdown. Reserve Bank of New Zealand lifted rates by 25bps today to 5.5%, the highest rate since 2008. UK inflation rate significantly dropped to 8.7% in April from 10.1% in March. Core inflation still a problem. Asian markets are down, Japan down 0.4%, HK down 1.1% with China off 0.7%. Australia 10Y yield up to 3.66%. Dow Jones futures down 2 points, and Nasdaq futures down 7 points.

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