The Match Out: Tech rallies but market struggles, CBA hits $110, Lynas (LYC) impresses at 2Q

For the third straight session, the ASX rallied through the 7500 level but failed to hold it to the close as profit takers sell into the early session strength. Despite the index closing lower, more than half of the shares in the ASX200 closed higher today, showing the smaller end of town was starting to see some catch-up buying. Tech was the standout sector, helped by a few upgrades at the big end of the sector, while telcos were also better than 1% higher as a sector. Staples and Healthcare were the main laggards today.

• The ASX 200 finished down -12pts/ -0.16% at 7481
• The Tech Sector (+2.32%) was best on ground, followed by Telcos (+1.08%) and Real Estate (+0.63%)
• The laggards included Staples (-0.74%), Healthcare (-0.71%) and Materials (-0.38%).
• Calix (ASX: CXL) +6.59%, received $40m in government funding for a partnership in which Calix plans to create ‘green’ methanol using captured CO2 emissions and green hydrogen.
• Lynas (ASX: LYC) +6.94%, rallied to 6-month highs following a 2Q production report. More on that below.
• ResMed (ASX: RMD) -6.81%, struggled on a weak 2Q update as costs and FX pressured margins. Revenue remains strong here and ahead of expectations, just need to get the costs under control.
• Metcash (ASX: MTS) -1.9%, traded lower after announcing the departure of Food CEO Scott Marshall. Scott will stay in the role to manage the transition with a replacement expected by the middle of the year.
• Gold trended higher in Asia today, currently trading up 00.2%. Gold stocks were initially sold off but rallied into the close. Evolution (ASX: EVN) was one of the better performers, rallying +2.18% today.
• Iron Ore resumed trade in China today, trading up 2%. Shares in the miners were lower though after rallying strongly while the market was closed last week.
• Asian stocks were mixed today as many indices came back online following the Luna New Year week off. Nikkei was flat, China currently trading up +0.35% while Hong Kong markets were weak as investors moved money back onshore.
• US Futures are trading weaker at the time of writing, S&P500 -0.33% and the Nasdaq -0.43%.

Lynas Resources (ASX: LYC) $9.71

LYC +6.94%: the rare earths company put out some impressive 2Q production numbers, rebounding from a weak start to the year to beat expectations. Revenue was up 15% vs 2Q22 while total REO production was 27% higher than the 1^st quarter as water supply shortages subsided. The company said the average selling price was in line with the prior quarter, however, demand has picked up since the start of the new year and prices have risen. The company is also marking strong progress towards their new Kalgoorlie facility which is expected to be up and running by July this year.

Broker Moves

• APM Human Services Rated New Overweight at Morgan Stanley
• Champion Iron Cut to Accumulate at CLSA; PT A$8.25
• Newcrest Cut to Accumulate at CLSA; PT A$24.65
• Fortescue Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse; PT A$17.20

Major Movers Today

Have a great night

The Market Matters Team

Make informed investment decisions

At Market Matters, we write a straight-talking, concise, twice daily note about our experiences, the stocks we like, the stocks we don’t, the themes that you should be across and the risks as we see them. Click here for your free trial.

The Match Out will be available each day after the market close. Follow my profile to be notified when the latest report is live.