While much ado is made of the science that goes into fund manager research, real assessment puts comparable weight on the art as well according to investment leaders.
While financials and materials dominated trades leading into 2024, the popularity of other sectors like healthcare and information technology followed generational, and even demographic, lines.
Inflation figures moderate downward, as 9 of 11 sectors lift.
The S&P/ASX 200 concluded up 1.2 percent, and the All Ordinaries also rose by 1.2 percent. Australia’s monthly consumer price indicator yielded an unexpected outcome on Wednesday, fuelling the share market to achieve its most robust single-day surge in over six weeks. The inflation gauge for July exhibited a drop to 4.9 percent from June’s 5.4 percent, catching numerous economists by surprise and instigating an upswing in stock values with nine of eleven sectors finishing in positive territory. Industrials outperformed all sectors on Wednesday, aided by a rally from heavyweight Brambles, lifting 7.1 percent, which increased its final dividend from US12¢ to US14¢ per share in comparison to the previous year. Healius shares rose by 7.8 percent to $2.92 after RBC analysts commended the healthcare company’s full-year report for surpassing expectations, despite revealing a $368 million loss due to impairments in its pathology business.
Chalice mining plummets 25 percent!
Real estate stocks sensitive to interest rate fluctuations surged, with Goodman Group climbing by 1.2 percent to $23.20. Developer Mirvac saw a 1.7 percent jump to $2.42, while Lendlease added 1.8 percent, closing at $7.74. Material stocks also performed well, closing 1.4 percent higher, supported by the rise in iron ore prices. BHP Group, Rio Tinto, and Fortescue Metals saw gains of 1.5 percent, 2.2 percent, and 4.5 percent respectively. Chalice Mining saw a significant drop of 25.2 percent to $3.77, stemming from skepticism surrounding the high commodity price assumptions in the company’s scoping study for the Gonneville project in Western Australia. Boral’s shares fell by 8 percent to $4.63 after Seven Group, owned by Kerry Stokes, reduced its stake in the building products group to 71.6 percent through the sale of 1 percent of shares at an average price of $4.90. Flight Centre’s shares decreased by 2.8 percent to $21.46, despite recovering from a $183 million loss the previous year to attain a net profit of $302 million in its latest full-year report. The company’s stock remains heavily shorted on the ASX, with approximately 10.3 percent of shares controlled by short sellers, according to data from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.
ADP Payroll data highlights a cooling US jobs market.
The Dow Jones finished up 0.1% increase, the S&P 500 gained 0.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.5% on Wednesday, as weaker economic data was seen in a positive lens. ADP payroll data showed a moderation in the previously heated job market, with private-sector payrolls expanding by 177,000 in August, a decline from the revised figure of 371,000 from the previous month. In company news, Tesla experienced a marginal decline of 0.1% after a 7.7% surge in the previous session, closing at $257.18. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) addressed Tesla in late July, seeking clarifications on adjustments made to the company’s driver-assistance features that enable extended hands-free driving. Meanwhile, HP Inc. encountered a significant decrease of 6.7% due to a downward revision of its fiscal 2023 outlook. This adjustment was attributed to a slower-than-anticipated improvement in PC prices and a decline in corporate hiring leading to reduced enterprise PC demand. Consequently, HP Inc. emerged as the weakest performer within the S&P 500 index on Wednesday. Shares of Rivian Automotive Inc. experienced a 2.6% uptick following the company’s announcement in a filing on Tuesday evening. The company revealed that its board had sanctioned an augmentation of CEO RJ Scaringe’s annual base salary to $1 million, a raise from the previous $650,000, which became effective last Friday.
