In Practice

The ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) finished marginally higher again on Wednesday, adding 0.2%, driven primarily by technology names including Afterpay Ltd (ASX:APT) and Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) after both reached all-time highs. These gains will be reversed today as US markets tumbled heavily, down between 2% and 3%, as the resurgence in COVID-19 cases continued to grow; this must be investors worst nightmare.

As the financial year comes to a close, it’s worth reflecting on what we have just experienced; not just in investment terms, but our health and community. COVID-19 will have long-lasting impacts on our lives and has resulted in one of the most unique investment environments in history. Markets experienced one of the fastest collapses…

In in a sign of how fragile this market recovery may be, global markets swung between gains and losses of 1% after White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro initially suggested the trade deal with China was ‘over’. This was only to be retracted by President Trump minutes later via Twitter.

Another day, another global technology rally sending markets higher. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones both improved 0.6% but it was the NASDAQ driving market returns improving 1.1% as both Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) and Amazon Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) hit new all-time highs.

A record result for retail sales albeit off a low base, up 16.3% in May, triggered another strong rally in the ASX 200 (ASX:XJO), though it wasn’t enough to offset the threat of more shutdowns with the market finishing up just 0.1% for the day and 1.6% for the week

Global markets continued their recent trend, forgiving recent COVID-19 outbreak spikes and poor unemployment to finish slightly down on yesterday.

The US market ended its winning streak overnight, with the Dow Jones (IND:DJI) retreating 0.6%, the S&P 500 (IND:SPX) -0.4%, with the NASDAQ (NASDAQ:NDAQ) once again immune from any weakness, adding 0.1%.

CNBC reportedly coined the phrase ‘Kangaroo’ market today with commentators giving on predicting its direction. The term best describes the daily experience of investors as the market ‘bounces’ around.

Fed to the rescue The ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) caught up to Wall Street’s Friday falls, dropping another 2.2% and taking the losing streak to three consecutive days. The weakness was driven by a combination of cyclicals and the financial sector, with energy down another 3.4% along with consumer discretionary. Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX:WES) lead the sector…

It was a mixed end to the week for the ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) falling 1.9% but recovering from intra-day lows of 3.4% as US markets showed investors were ‘buying the dip’.

Sharemarkets around the world capitulated on Thursday as concerns of a second wave of the Coronavirus hit the US, the S&P 500 shedding (SPX:IND) 5.9% with only one constituent, grocery retailer Kroger’s Inc. (NYSE:KR) posting a positive return.

Last year, one of Australia’s leading investors and fund managers walked into my office for a recording of The Australian Investors Podcast. I had just been scribbling some notes on my whiteboard about philosophy, discount rates and practical aspects of investing in high growth companies for the long run. He saw some of my chicken scratches,…