Australian Stocks: What Happened Today?

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By Max Ludowici, Equities & Derivatives Advisor, 708 Capital

 

The scoreboard:

–          The ASX200 showed good resilience to close up 18 points or 0.4% to 4576

–          The AUD drifted lower over the session… Currently reading 1.0483 vs the USD

–          Total volume for the day was inline with yearly averages at $3.8B.

The Australian share market showed good resilience today, managing to hold onto gains from the prior week’s trade after a very flat night offshore. Positive movement in commodities and metals overnight were the standout feature of the overnight session and further boosted confidence in a resurging Asian growth story. A Wall Street Journal article overnight reported that US politicians had made good headway in budget talks and added to the positive sentiment. Expectations are that this will be resolved, atleast in draft form by Christmas time, which is adding to risk-on sentiment.

The US Fed’s FOMC meeting will conclude on Wednesday and give direction on the central bank’s monetary policy stance for the coming months with expectations of more Treasury bond buying which will likely bolster markets. This will be followed by retail sales, industrial production and CPI out of the US later in the week.

In contrast to positive news out of the US and China, the domestic situation in Australia appears to be deteriorating rather rapidly, despite the positive comments from our Government. The National Bank’s index of business confidence, fell 8 points to -9 in November from October to the lowest level since 2009. The broader community seems rather pessimistic as the reality of a lower growth environment thanks to a stalling mining industry sinks in. The news failed to ruffle feathers in trade as we continued our sideway trend for the session.

We have been taking note of the continued strength in our cyclicals for most of December now. We made note of this when the comments came out but the positive rhetoric out of China should not be ignored. For the uninitiated the comments went something like this: China’s leaders pledged to promote domestic demand with policy support for economic recovery… Ignore this development at your own peril.

A jump in metals prices overnight (China bullishness) pushed our metals higher with OZ minerals ((OZL)) up 4.17%, Western Areas ((WSA)) up 5.91% and Iluka Resources ((ILU)) up 4.6%

The big miners had another stellar run after spot iron ore rallied close to 2% to US$123.40 a metric ton. BHP Billiton ((BHP)) rose 1.32%, Rio Tinto ((RIO)) rose 0.77%, and Fortescue Metals ((FMG)) climbed 3.95%.

Other notable moves included:

Downer EDI ((DOW)) climbed 2.7% after settling a dispute with a Singaporean Power growth for $40m.

Yield stocks continued to firm with Commonwealth Bank ((CBA)) up 0.64% and National bank ((NAB)) up 0.5%.

Lendlease ((LLC)) rose 1.5% after it was chosen as the preferred builder for a $1B revamp of Sydney’s Darling Harbour precinct.

 

DOW futures are pointing to a negative opening, currently down 14 points 
 

(For a more comprehensive summary of last night’s market action see FNArena’s Overnight Report.)

 

This article produced at the request of and is published by FNArena with the expressed permission of 708 Capital.

708 Capital is a full service stockbroking and investment advisory firm. 708 offers investment and market advice to high-net-worth Private and Institutional clients in Australia and across the globe. 708's extensive network of contacts gives its clients exclusive access to ground-level fundraising opportunities and new company listings in a variety of small and large cap ASX listed companies. 708 has a longstanding track record of generating exceptional returns for its clients. Click here 708capital.com.au/contact-us/ for a no costconsultation and portfolioreview or to learn more visit www.708capital.com.au. Note: 708 Capital offers wealth management services for Sophisticated and Wholesale Investors only. We can only assist investors who are classified as Sophisticated Investors or have verified assets over AUD$2.5m.

708capital is a holder of AFSL. No. 386279

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This document is intended to provide general securities advice only, and has been prepared without taking account of your objectives, financial situation or needs and therefore before acting on advice contained in this document you should consider its appropriateness having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. We recommend you obtain financial, legal and taxation advice before making any financial investment decision.

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