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Wall St overturned its recent red run to close higher on Wednesday as investors overlooked concerns around Trump’s tariffs and into areas of opportunity in the market. The S&P500 rose 0.01%, only just snapping a 4-day losing streak, while the Nasdaq gained 0.26% and the Dow Jones ended the day up 0.43%.
Nvidia’s results out overnight boosted the AI-market darling up 3% ahead of the results release after the closing bell. Nvidia’s results once again beat expectations with sales growing 78%, revenue coming in at US$39.33bn and EPS rose to US$0.89/share. The outlook is also very strong for revenue of US$43bn in Q1 as global demand for AI drives tailwinds for the company.

European markets ended the midweek session higher amid strong corporate earnings beats across the region. The STOXX 600 rose 0.99%, Germany’s DAX rose 1.73%, the French CAC added 1.15%, and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day up 0.72%. Earnings from Budweiser maker AB Inbev, Adecco, and Munich Re each rallied yesterday after reporting earnings beats.

Across the APAC region on Wednesday, markets closed mixed taking lead from Wall St on Tuesday and amid key pledges out of governments in the region. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 3.63% led by tech stocks after the city pledged in its budget to develop itself into an AI hub. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.25%, and South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.41%.

Locally on Wednesday the ASX200 fell 0.14%, weighed down by the materials sector falling 1.61%, while Real Estate stocks fell 1.3%. Energy and Financials stocks offset some of the market losses with gains of 1.3% and 0.71% respectively.

Bapcor rallied over 13% yesterday after the leading provider of aftermarket parts, accessories and services released strong first half results including strong cost reduction plans to increase cash conversion which has enabled the company to bay down debt and reinvest in growth plans this financial year to date.
Light & Wonder also rose over 7% after the gaming company reported FY24 results including a 10% rise in revenue to a record $3.2bn, a 110% jump in net income to $336m and guided to low double-digit income growth for Q1FY25.

What to watch today:

• Ahead of Thursday’s trading session here in Australia the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day down 0.12%.
• On the commodities front this morning oil is trading 0.16% lower at US$68.82/barrel, gold is down 0.07% at US$2916/ounce and iron ore is down 0.02% at US$107.17/tonne.
• The Aussie dollar has slightly weakened against the greenback overnight to buy 63.03 US cents, 93.98 Japanese Yen, 49.89 British Pence and 1 New Zealand dollar and 11 cents.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter has slightly decreased the 12-month price target on Kogan.com (ASX:KGN) from $5.10 to $5.00 and maintain a hold rating on the online retailer following a 1H result that came in line with expectations. The slight decrease in 12-month price target is due to earnings downgrades by the analyst as Kogan’s Mighty Ape business had some transition issues post a website upgrade last year.
• Bell Potter has downgraded the price target on Woolworths (ASX:WOW) from $31.75 to $30.75 and maintain a hold rating on the leading supermarket giant after the company reported first half results below BPe on an NPAT front and provided softer near-term guidance.