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Morning Bell 23 October

Bell Direct
October 23, 2024

Over in the US on Tuesday, rising bond yields are pressured equities for a second session this week. The US 10-Year Treasury note yield briefly topped 4.2% for the first time in months before pulling back. The Dow Jones fell 0.02%, the S&P 500 lost 0.05% lower but the tech heavy Nasdaq ended the day up 0.18%.

In Europe overnight, markets closed lower as investors assessed key corporate earnings results. The STOXX 600 fell 0.2%, Germany’s DAX also lost 0.2%, the French CAC fell 0.01% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day down 0.14%.

Across the Asia region on Tuesday, markets closed mostly lower in the region tracking global market sell-offs early in the week. China’s CSI index bucked the sea of red to rise 0.57% on Tuesday while South Korea’s Kospi Index fell 1.31%, and Japan’s Nikkei lost 1.39%. Hyundai Motor shares debuted on India’s stock exchange on Tuesday with a record IPO but shares ended the day down 7%.

The local market started the week higher before closing 1.66% lower on Tuesday in line with the Wall Street’s pullback on Monday. With markets now factoring the need for a less aggressive rate cut strategy out of the US as inflation eases and the economy remains resilient, investors are now questioning how much steam the local and global market rally has left.

Mineral Resources and WiseTech Global have been under pressure this week amid news and respective investigations into those at the helm of the mining and logistics technology company alike.

Audinate Group fell over 6% on Tuesday after the media software provider released a quarterly update outlining weak performance in a challenging operating environment was the key reason for full-year gross profit missing the target.
Toll roads operator Transurban also fell almost 2% yesterday despite reaffirming FY25 distribution guidance of 65cps and reported growth in traffic across its key markets aside from Melbourne.

One element of positivity in the Aussie market yesterday was Australian consumer confidence jumping to its highest level since January last year last week with a rise to 87.5 points, or a 4.1 point rise as the outlook for inflation eases and consumer sentiment was boosted by strong Australian jobs data also released last week.

Wine exports from Australia also climbed 34% to $2.39bn in the 12-months to the end of September which is a welcomed boost for listed companies like Treasury Wine Estates which has faced tougher operating conditions prior to China lifting its tariffs on Aussie wine exports recently.

What to watch today:

  • Ahead of the midweek trading session here in Australia the SPI futures are expecting the ASX to open the day up 0.28% despite the pullback on Wall St on Tuesday.
  • On the commodities front this morning oil is trading 2.26% higher at US$71.63/barrel, gold is up 0.92% at US$2746/ounce, and iron ore is down 0.13% at US$105.23/tonne.
  • The Aussie dollar has weakened against the greenback overnight to buy US$0.66, 101.03 Japanese Yen, 51.39 British Pence and NZ$1.11.

Trading Ideas:

  • Bell Potter has decreased the 12-month price target on Select Harvests (ASX:SHV) from $4.95 to $4.60 and maintain a buy rating on the almond producer following a disappointing FY24 update including a capital raising and the guidance for FY24 underlying EBIT of $17-19m which is lower than Bell Potter was expecting. Bell Potter maintains the buy rating due to recent strengthening in almond prices driving upside potential.
  • And Trading Central has identified a bearish signal on The Star Entertainment Group (ASX:SGR) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 17-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may fall from the close of 27cps to the range of 15 cps to 17 cps according to standard principles of technical analysis.

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