Equities stumbling to the 2018 finish line

The market rallied today, following on from yesterday’s 20 point grind higher to add another ~40 points today. Buying was seen across the board with banks, resources, tech & even the retail names getting in on the act. Franking credit talk helped those with large balances,  commodity prices pushed higher and the US futures helped pull the local market higher. Healthcare the only sector to finish in the red, stemming from a disappointing report from ResMed which we discuss later. Iluka (ASX: ILU) was the best performer today after a solid 4th quarter production, but more importantly Zircon and Ti2O prices moving higher with the CEO calling for the rally to continue.

Overall, the index closed up 39 points or +0.68% today to 5905 and was up 0.44% on the week. Dow Futures are trading up 120 points / 0.49%.

ASX 200 Chart

CATCHING OUR EYE

Broker Moves;

• Platinum Asset Rated New Sell at Citi; PT A$4.20
• Pendal Group Rated New Neutral at Citi; PT A$8.20
• Magellan Financial Rated New Buy at Citi; PT A$31
• Suncorp Upgraded to Buy at Citi; PT A$14.60
• Santos Upgraded to Buy at UBS; PT A$7.20
• OceanaGold Cut to Neutral at PI Financial; Price Target C$5
• Qantas Downgraded to Neutral at Credit Suisse; PT A$6.70
• Galaxy Resources Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse
• Sydney Airport Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT A$7.07
• Australian Pharma Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley
• South32 Downgraded to Neutral at Exane
• Orora Downgraded to Underweight at Morgan Stanley

Some of the specific events we covered during the week…

ResMed (ASX: RMD) misses 2nd quarter revenue target; the stock was smashed today after falling short of analysts’ expectations. Click here

Sims Metals (ASX: SGM) started the week poorly with a profit downgrade; the scrap metal name did rally back today, but was smashed to long term lows on Monday. Click here

Challenger (ASX: CGF) shares challenged on poor guidance; the share price tracked lower this week driven by lowered profit growth guidance. Click here

5 stocks that didn’t join the rally, are they worth a look?; will these 5 stocks join the market rebound? Click here

Quarterly production figures drove news flow; read BHP here

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