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The Overnight Report: Take A Breath…

Daily Market Reports | Jan 10 2024

This story features ALUMINA LIMITED, and other companies. For more info SHARE ANALYSIS: AWC

World Overnight
SPI Overnight 7481.00 – 12.00 – 0.16%
S&P ASX 200 7520.50 + 69.00 0.93%
S&P500 4756.50 – 7.04 – 0.15%
Nasdaq Comp 14857.71 + 13.94 0.09%
DJIA 37525.16 – 157.85 – 0.42%
S&P500 VIX 12.82 – 0.26 – 1.99%
US 10-year yield 4.02 + 0.02 0.42%
USD Index 102.54 + 0.25 0.24%
FTSE100 7683.96 – 10.23 – 0.13%
DAX30 16688.36 – 28.11 – 0.17%

By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck

Greg Peel will return later this month.

Wall Street legend Bob Farrell wasn't joking when he wrote down his investment rule number 10: Bull markets are more fun than bear markets.

One glance over yesterday's share price performances instantly reveals why so many investors are waking up with a big smile on their face these days. There's money to be made, and in many cases, lots of it too!

But can it last? Overall sentiment is exceptionally positive, yet again, and valuations are no longer dirt cheap as they were in September-October last year. This is the public debate taking place on Wall Street right now.

Meanwhile, irregardless (yes, it's in the Oxford Dictionary) of sentiment and index rallies, the share market, locally and elsewhere, is not a winning game for all. One look at FNArena's daily update on Winners and Losers shows exactly that:

https://www.fnarena.com/index.php/2024/01/09/asx-winners-and-losers-of-today-09-01-24/

Among the winners in yesterday's buoyant local market were Alumina ((AWC)), as partner Alcoa mothballed the troubled Kwinana refinery, the oldest in the global portfolio. Job losses of 600 workers were, highly predictably, welcomed by investors who like the removal of what has been a troubled asset for a while.

CPAP manufacturer ResMed ((RMD)) presented at the annual healthcare conference organised by JP Morgan in the USA. Its shares took a big leap forward, now cruising past the $26 mark. ResMed is scheduled to report Q2 financials on January 25.

Here's the link: https://investors.resmed.com/investor-relations/events-and-presentations/past-events/event-details/2023/ResMed-at-41st-Annual-JP-Morgan-Healthcare-Conference/default.aspx

Whether ResMed's presentation will be followed up with local stockbroking analysts issuing research updates remains yet to be seen. Judging from this week's harvest so far, many an analyst is still enjoying the sun near a beach somewhere. No doubt, that'll change as the February results season approaches.

On Wall Street, technology stocks remain in focus, though overall price action has become decidedly less uniform as the above mentioned debate rages on. Overnight, the likes of Nvidia, Amazon and Alphabet have kept the Nasdaq in the positive and losses for the other two major indices limited.

The World Bank reminded investors global economic growth is still expected to slow down in the quarters ahead. Plenty of expert voices believe US bond markets are too eager to price in Fed rate cuts from March-May onwards. Try June-July, or possibly later in the year, is a refrain that is often heard around the traps.

Commodities, including energy and precious metals, seem directionless these days. But as every market participant is all too aware; this can change in a flash.

SPI futures are suggesting a rather lukewarm opening for the ASX this morning.

Samer Hasn Market Analyst and part of the Research Team at XS.com reports:

Euro is still moving almost sideways since the end of last week, trading on either side of the 1.095 level. Today, it was able to record some slight gains of about 0.07%. The euro's gains today came despite weak industrial production data from Germany which created some pressure for a short period of time initially.

Today witnessed industrial production figures in Germany for last November, which confirmed the continued weakness in manufacturing activities. On a monthly basis, industry output contracted by 0.7%, which represented the seventh consecutive month of contraction and was contrary to expectations for a growth of 0.2%. On an annual basis, outputs contracted by 4.87%, which represents the sixth consecutive month of contraction as well.

The largest decline in industrial production came from a 2.9% decline in construction output on a monthly basis, in addition to a 0.7% and 0.5% contraction in production of capital goods and intermediate goods, respectively. As for energy-intensive industries, output recorded a growth of 3.1% in their outputs on a monthly basis, but they were 4% below the levels of the same period of the previous year. Excluding energy and construction items, industrial production contracted by 0.5% on a monthly basis.

This continuing trend of declining industrial production may be worrying if it continues, which comes in conjunction with the political and social turmoil in the largest economy of the eurozone. This continued decline may also contribute to weakening the labor market, which is still resilient and constitutes a solid support ground for the economy.

Spot Metals,Minerals & Energy Futures
Gold (oz) 2035.40 + 8.80 0.43%
Silver (oz) 23.17 + 0.11 0.48%
Copper (lb) 3.76 – 0.06 – 1.57%
Aluminium (lb) 1.01 + 0.00 0.27%
Nickel (lb) 7.23 – 0.04 – 0.50%
Zinc (lb) 1.13 + 0.00 0.27%
West Texas Crude 72.07 – 0.94 – 1.29%
Brent Crude 77.42 + 1.04 1.36%
Iron Ore (t) 137.40 – 0.45 – 0.33%

The Australian share market over the past thirty days…

Index 09 Jan 2024 Week To Date Month To Date (Jan) Quarter To Date (Jan-Mar) Year To Date (2024)
S&P ASX 200 (ex-div) 7520.50 0.42% -0.93% -0.93% -0.93%
BROKER RECOMMENDATION CHANGES PAST THREE TRADING DAYS
ASX ASX Downgrade to Neutral from Outperform Macquarie
CEH Coast Entertainment Upgrade to Accumulate from Hold Ord Minnett
CGF Challenger Downgrade to Hold from Accumulate Ord Minnett
CSR CSR Downgrade to Sell from Hold Ord Minnett
IAG Insurance Australia Group Downgrade to Hold from Add Morgans
JDO Judo Capital Downgrade to Hold from Accumulate Ord Minnett
MFG Magellan Financial Downgrade to Sell from Neutral Citi
MTO Motorcycle Holdings Downgrade to Hold from Add Morgans
NXT NextDC Downgrade to Lighten from Hold Ord Minnett
PBP Probiotec Downgrade to Hold from Add Morgans
SGM Sims Downgrade to Sell from Neutral Citi
TLC Lottery Corp Upgrade to Accumulate from Hold Ord Minnett

For more detail go to FNArena's Australian Broker Call Report, which is updated each morning, Mon-Fri.

All overnight and intraday prices, average prices, currency conversions and charts for stock indices, currencies, commodities, bonds, VIX and more available on the FNArena website.  Click here. (Subscribers can access prices on the website.)

(Readers should note that all commentary, observations, names and calculations are provided for informative and educational purposes only. Investors should always consult with their licensed investment advisor first, before making any decisions. All views expressed are the author's and not by association FNArena's – see disclaimer on the website)

All paying members at FNArena are being reminded they can set an email alert specifically for The Overnight Report. Go to Portfolio and Alerts on the website and tick the box in front of The Overnight Report. You will receive an email alert every time a new Overnight Report has been published on the website.

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