Next Week At A Glance – 10-14 Mar 2025

This story features MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED, and other companies. For more info SHARE ANALYSIS: MIN

For a more comprehensive preview of next week’s events, please refer to “The Monday Report”, published each Monday morning. For all economic data release dates, ex-div dates and times and other relevant information, please refer to the FNArena Calendar.

The week that was in Australian Finance:

-Turbulence, volatility, and fear are the name of the game when it comes to financial markets in March. As IG’s Tony Sycamore said, “The rapidly shifting sands of US tariffs are turning into quicksand for businesses in the US, Canada, and Mexico to drown in“.

-Investors and companies don’t like uncertainty, and the US Administration has brought forth just that. The Trump bump or trade that pushed US markets to all-time highs has all but evaporated into the Trump slump, for now.

-It remains to be seen whether all the macro changes the Administration has brought forth will change the US growth story. Markets are now pricing another -25bps cut in the Fed funds rate at the FOMC June meeting.

-The ASX200 fell for an eleventh time over the last fourteen sessions on Thursday and is tracking down -2% for the last week, having fallen -6.1% over the last month.

-Bottom fishing failed to materialise, with a plethora of stocks going ex-dividend. When will some of the payouts find their way back into equities?

-The ASX200 Energy sector has fallen -6% this week, reaching its lowest level since January 2022. As Sycamore describes, crude oil is struggling with a mix of tariffs, US growth concerns, the potential lifting of US sanctions on Russia, and OPEC-plus opting to increase output.

-The Financial sector followed the US sell-off in banking stocks, falling around -4% over the week, with insurers not helped by the incoming Cyclone Alfred set to hit Australia’s east coast. Utilities and Consumer Staples also fell some -4%. Materials was the only ASX sector in the green, thank you China for the stimulus package, while Healthcare, Information Technology, and Communications were broadly flat on last week.

-For those with a long memory, the October 1987 UK hurricane preceded Black Monday’s stock market crash. Let’s hope this year’s cyclone is not so ominous for markets!

-If you haven’t checked out the February earnings monitor, see the Beats, Misses and In-Line updates and commentary, at FNArena’s Corporate Results Monitor https://fnarena.com/index.php/reporting_season/

Have a great weekend from the FNArena Team!

Corporate news in the week that was:

-Leaked report reveals major risks and spiralling repair costs for Mineral Resources’ ((MIN)) $3bn Onslow road

-Bega Cheese ((BGA)) is reportedly eyeing Fonterra Oceania purchase in $2bn asset sale

-Westpac’s ((WBC)) tech overhaul under CEO Anthony Miller may lead to the elimination of sub-brands like St. George Bank and BankSA

-Yet another contract win from Pro Medicus ((PME)), this time a $40m imaging deal with LucidHealth

-Sandfire Resources ((SFR)) exits Avrupa Minerals JV after weak drilling results

-The Australian government’s Foreign Investment Review Board has approved Pacific Equity Partners’ $1.4bn takeover of SG Fleet ((SGF))

-Newmont Corp ((NEM)) has finalised the divestment of three North American mines

-Regis Resources ((RRL)) among the bidders for EMR Capital’s $2bn Ravenswood gold mine

-CommBank ((CBA)) sells final 4.4% stake in VIB for $170m, fully exiting Vietnamese bank to refocus on Australia and New Zealand

-Shares in Arcadium Lithium ((LTM)) will be suspended from trading today after a court waved through its acquisition by a subsidiary of Rio Tinto ((RIO))

-Arcadium Lithium is now Rio Tinto Lithium

-Rio Tinto ((RIO)) is investing US$1.8bn to extend its Brockman mine in the Pilbara

-Brookfield has reportedly cooled on its takeover bid for Insignia Financial ((IFL)), with sources indicating a formal proposal at $4.60 per share is now unlikely

Corporate Calendar

For a calendar of earnings result releases and a summary of earnings results to date, refer to FNArena’s Corporate Results Monitor (https://www.fnarena.com/index.php/reporting_season/)

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