The Match Out: Stocks snap four days of gains, Financials strong - property not so

The ASX gave back yesterday’s gains today with Real-Estate and IT feeling the pinch, although the influential banks finished higher while pockets of the resources sector also held up well. The worst of the day’s price action was seen at midday before the index edged higher into the close – not a lot happening in US Futures on either side of the ledger.

• The ASX 200 finished down -63pts/ -0.94% at 6700
• The Financials sector was best on ground (+0.27%) while Consumer Staples (+0.14%) & Energy (+0.13%) were also relative performers.
• Real-Estate (-3.76%) and IT (-2.83%) the weakest links.
• Gold stocks continued to spiral – Gold as a safe haven simply hasn’t worked this time around – Newcrest (NCM) -3.93% while Evolution (EVN) fell -6.98% & Northern Star (NST) -5.64%.
• Star Entertainment (SGR) +3.32% announced the appointment of a new CEO (pending regulatory approval) & rallied
• Lithium developer Liontown (LTR) +5.16% has done a deal with Ford, on top of their existing deal with Tesla
• Pilbara Minerals (PLS) – 3.77% down despite a solid set of production numbers.
• A big income day for the MM Income Portfolio – stocks that traded ex-divi included APA Group (APA), Stockland (SGP) & Transurban (TCL).
• Iron Ore was ~4% higher in Asia today – the Iron Ore stocks outperformed
• Gold was marginally lower, now trading at ~US$1813 – the $US remains the key here and it just won’t roll over.
• Asian stocks were all lower, Hong Kong down -1.9%, Japan fell -1.4% while China was off -0.90%
• US Futures are largely flat

ASX 200 Chart

Strandline (STA) 35c

STA +6.06%: Strandline has announced that open-pit mining at the Coburn Mineral Sands Project will commence two months early, and with an initial strip ratio of just 0.5x, down from previous 0.7x estimates. The company also notes that the project remains on-budget. In a world where cost inflation and project delays are commonplace, this is a good outcome for the junior mineral sands player.

Tyro Payments (TYR) 65c

TYR -16.67%: the CEO & MD has submitted his resignation today, triggering a 6-month notice period for the payment terminals business. Rob Cooke has taken the top job at Star Entertainment (SGR) pending regulatory approval – Star almost needs regulatory approval to take a $5 bet at the blackjack table these days. It’s disappointing to see the CEO leave 5 years into the job after taking Tyro listed in 2019, exiting at a tough time for the payments company after years of tech issues and stumbling sales, not helped by COVID lockdowns. The search is underway for a new CEO to get performance back on track.

Broker Moves

• Collins Foods Rated New Underperform at Barclay Pearce Capital
• Centuria Industrial Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
• Charter Hall Long WALE Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
• GPT Group Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley; PT A$4.30
• National Storage REIT Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley
• Liberty Financial Group Ltd Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse
• GTN Ltd Cut to Speculative Buy at Evans & Partners Pty Ltd
• Tabcorp Raised to Outperform at Macquarie; PT A$1.20
• Collins Foods Raised to Add at Morgans Financial Limited
• XPON Technologies Rated New Buy at Shaw and Partners
• AACO Cut to Hold at Bell Potter; PT A$2.35

Major Movers Today

Have a great night

The Market Matters Team

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