ASX200 Afternoon Report August 25th 2022

The ASX200 trades 50 points higher at 7048 at 3.40 pm Sydney time. 

The ASX200 has gained for a second straight session after U.S stock markets snapped a three-day losing streak, supported by better-than-expected economic data. Pending Home sales declined by only 1% in July vs -4% expected. Core capital goods data also beat forecasts.

The announcement of another round of economic stimulus in China to the tune of 1 trillion yuan focused on infrastructure projects also appears to have boosted the local bourse. However, while officials continue to pursue Covid Zero, the size of the package means its impact will be limited.

Nonetheless, Material stocks have jumped, led by Lynas Rare Earths, which added 1.75% to $8.99. South32 shares gained 1% to $4.28 after reporting recording earnings on the back of strong prices for aluminium and metallurgical coal. BHP added 0.87% to $42.27 and Mineral Resources firmed by 0.7% to $64.05 ahead of its earnings report on Monday.

After falling to a six-month low last week near US$85 p/b, the price of crude oil rebounded back above $95 p/b overnight, extending gains after Saudi Arabia warned it could cut production upon the return of sanctioned Iranian oil. Beach Energy added 3.53% to $1.76. Woodside added 1.6% to $35.37, Santos added 1.5% to $7.84, and Origin Energy added 1.2% to $6.32.

Despite reporting a $1.05bn loss for FY222, the share price of Zip gained 2% to $0.99c as it noted a 57% jump in revenue and a 56% increase in customer numbers. Altium added 2.7% to $37.62, Tyro Payments added 2.3% to $0.98c. Appen fell 1.4% to $4.11 after reporting an underlying NPAT loss of $3.8m, compared to a $12.5m underlying profit in the prior corresponding period.

For those hoping that Woolworths could avoid a similar fate to Coles yesterday, it wasn’t to be. Its share price fell 4% to $35.91 as management reported weak sales, lower margins, and rising prices. Coles fell 2% to $17.54, and Metcash fell 0.5% to $4.05.

A mixed day for travel stocks as Flight Centre fell 4.8% to $16.52 after reporting a $183.1mn loss despite a 154% jump in revenues to $1bn. Going the other way, the share price of Qantas added 6.5% to $4.83 as it announced a surprise $400m share buyback.

The share price of fund manager Pendal surged 9% to $5.33 after it sealed a merger with rival Perpetual, whose share price fell 8.18% to $27.82.

Finally, uranium miner, Paladin Energy, soared 11.2% to $0.81c after Japanese PM Kishida announced yesterday that Japan planned to reopen several nuclear plants and was interested in the developing new nuclear plants to cope with the current energy crunch.

The pullback in the ASX200 from the 200-day moving average at 7152 has mostly followed the script, with preliminary signs of basing at 6961. After working off overbought readings, the market appears to be setting up for another leg higher post-Jackson Hole

Source Tradingview. The figures stated are as of August 25th, 2022. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This report does not contain and is not to be taken as containing any financial product advice or financial product recommendation

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