Good morning traders, happy Friday. Thanks to @ttward, @Ravgnome & the Aftermarket loungers.

You may have noticed @paddington bear is taking a week off, it's only been one day but I already feel a little lost without her morning notes, such an invaluable poster she is (hope you all read her notes when she is around, you are missing out if you aren’t ).

 

 

ASX Market Report

 

The Australian sharemarket has closed flat after being tugged in opposite directions by mixed earnings reports from 16 of the nation's top 200 companies.

 

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 4.2 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 6,059.4 points at 1615 AEDT on Thursday, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 0.6 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 6,139.6.

 

"Ironically, the index has been very calm," masking a busy day for the local bourse, said CMC chief market strategist Michael McCarthy.

 

Telstra, Suncorp Group, AMP and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield were all lower after disappointing investors with earnings reports.

 

Telstra, Australia's most widely held stock by individual investors, closed down 2.18 per cent, to $3.14, on a see-saw day after it cut its interim payout to shareholders.

 

It traded as low as $3, but "the optimism of the CEO must have caught some ears," with shares recovering later in the day, Mr McCarthy said.

 

AMP shares dropped 7.79 per cent as the company cut its dividend 10.5 cents to 4 cents, on the back of a 97 per cent drop in profits.

 

AMP chief executive Francesco De Ferrari said he believed there was still "a lot of goodwill around the AMP brand" despite the roasting the company took at the financial services royal commission for misconduct.

 

"A terrible set of numbers, and some would say an unbelievable set of comments by the CEO," said Mr McCarthy, adding the company seemed to still be in denial about its loss of public trust.

 

On the flip side, miner and minerals company South32, commercial property group Goodman Group, Cleanaway Waste Management, Woodside Petroleum, Breville and Magellan Financial Group all shot upward after releasing positive results.

 

Breville shares skyrocketed 18.01 per cent, hitting an all-time high at $14.09, after the kitchen appliance company said profits had risen 20 per cent.

 

Magellan shares were up 9.9 per cent, to $32.09, after the funds manager boosted its dividend two-thirds on a 62 per cent lift in first-half profit. Mr McCarthy called the company's results "stunning".

 

South32 shares moved up 3.54 per cent, to $3.80, after the Perth company raised its dividend and said its profit was up 18 per cent.

 

The Aussie dollar moved higher, buying 71.21 US cents, from 70.95 US cents on Wednesday.

 

ON THE ASX:

* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 4.2 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 6,059.4 points at 1630 AEDT on Thursday.

* The All Ordinaries was down 0.6 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 6,139.6.

* At 1630 AEDT, the SPI200 futures index was up 8 points, or 0.13 per cent, at 6021.

 

CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1630 AEDT:

One Australian dollar buys:

* 71.21 US cents, from 70.95 US on Wednesday

* 79.02 Japanese yen, from 78.87

* 63.11 euro cents, from 62.90

* 55.33 British pence, from 55.25

* 104.24 NZ cents, from 104.10

 

GOLD:

The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1630 AEDT was $US1308.70 per fine ounce, from $US1306.25 on Wednesday.

 

In Asia

 

Bloomberg said Trump was considering pushing back the March 1 deadline for higher tariffs on Chinese goods by 60 days.

 

But expectations have been disappointed before, the reaction in Asian share markets was guarded. Shanghai blue chips closed broadly flat, having jumped 2 percent on Wednesday to levels last seen in late September.

 

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.15 percent, though that was off a peak last seen in early October.

 

Japan’s Nikkei touched its highest this year as a weakening yen boosted export stocks. The Australian dollar, often used as a liquid proxy for China risks, gained 0.4 percent to $0.7114 and S&P 500 futures added 0.15 percent.

 

The Aussie dollar had already got a small lift when Chinese trade data handily beat expectations in a welcome relief for the global economy.

 

Beijing reported exports rose 9.1 percent in January from a year earlier, confounding forecasts of a fall, while imports dipped by a surprisingly slight 1.5 percent.

 

The recent improvement in risk appetite undermined the safe haven yen and propelled the dollar to its best levels of the year so far at 111.05.

Read more

 

In Europe

 

European shares gave up three-month highs on Thursday after a surprise sharp decline in U.S. retail sales pulled stocks lower in afternoon trading, spoiling an initially upbeat session that saw blue-chips such as Nestle shine on strong earnings.

 

The pan-European STOXX 600 closed down 0.2 percent after spending the first half of the day in positive territory.

 

“The market’s fragile optimism was undermined on Thursday after a truly horrendous set of retail sales figures out of the U.S.,” wrote Connor Campbell, an analyst at Spreadex.

 

Frankfurt’s DAX, which had showed resilience after GDP data revealed the euro zone’s largest economy only just escaped falling into recession in the fourth quarter, ended the day as the worst performer.

 

Some European industrial and consumer staple heavyweights managed to pull out a decent day.

 

Airbus delivered better-than-expected results, taking some of the sting out of news that Europe’s largest aerospace group has abandoned its flagship A380 program. Its shares jumped at the open and ended the day up 2.7 percent.

 

Nestle, the world’s top food and drinks maker, soared to all-time highs after giving an upbeat outlook for the year ahead on an improving outlook in China and North America.

Read more

 

In the United States

 

Wall Street struggled to reverse early losses on Thursday as an unexpected drop in retail sales dampened investor hopes for progress at the ongoing U.S.-China trade talks in Beijing.

 

The S&P 500 eked out a small gain and held above its 200-day moving average, a key technical level. The Nasdaq turned positive, while the Dow remained slightly lower, weighed down by consumer staples and tariff-sensitive industrials.

 

All three major U.S. stock indexes were held back by rate-sensitive financial stocks as U.S. Treasury yields fell on weaker-than-expected economic data.

 

Talks to defuse the ongoing tariff dispute between the world’s two largest economies moved to a higher level as U.S.-China negotiations progressed in Beijing ahead of the March 1 deadline.

 

But optimism about the trade talks was undercut by a report from the U.S. Commerce Department showing retail sales in December suffered their biggest drop in more than nine years.

 

Separate reports from the Labor Department, showing a surprise increase in unemployment claims and an unforeseen dip in producer prices, pointed to a slowdown in U.S. economic activity.

 

“There’s no getting around it, (December) was a weak month for retail,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York. “Concern about the economy is now reflected in Q1 estimates, which are now negative.”

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11.22 points, or 0.04 percent, to 25,532.05, the S&P 500 gained 1.07 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,754.1 and the Nasdaq Composite added 24.67 points, or 0.33 percent, to 7,445.05.

 

Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, 5 were in negative territory, with consumer staples and financials showing the biggest percentage declines.

 

The shockingly weak report from the Commerce Department on Thursday led to growth estimates for the fourth-quarter being cut to below a 2.0 percent annualized rate.

 

December’s collapse in retail sales and other data showing an unexpected increase in the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits last week and a second straight monthly decline in producer prices in January support the Federal Reserve’s pledge to be “patient” before raising interest rates further this year.

Read more

 

 

 

Earnings Reports

Via Comsec

 

Via Earnings Whispers

 

Australian News

 

The Australian dollar rose briefly after better-than-expected trade data from China, the nation's top trading partner, but investors were cautious ahead of high-level Sino-US trade talks. 
Read more

 

In one of the first instances of a regulator beginning to find their feet after the Royal Commission delivered its final report earlier in the month, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has started calling for change in the home loans market.
Read more

 

AMP profit crumbles amid royal commission scandals, life insurance sale 
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Suncorp expects to spend an extra $50 million on responding to regulatory issues raised by the royal commission following its preliminary assessment of Kenneth Hayne's final report. Suncorp, which reported a 45 per cent decline in first-half profit following a jump in weather-related claims, said on Thursday that the estimated cost of what it calls "regulatory projects and system enhancements" had increased from about $90 million to about $140 million. 
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The State Government has been accused of engineering the bidding process for a wave energy project off Albany that was awarded to a troubled green power firm. The WA Nationals claimed this afternoon the tender process for the Albany wave energy project had seemingly been skewed to ensure Carnegie Clean Energy was the only bidder that could have won the development rights. 
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A group of Canberra apartment owners facing $19 million in repairs for shoddy building work has been dealt another blow, losing a Federal Court bid to claim compensation.The Elara Apartment complex, built in 2007 on a prime block of land in Bruce, has been haunted by a web of problems with the development and failed legal action. 
Read more

 

Global News

 

The global unemployment rate inched down last year, the UN said Wednesday, warning though that jobs often failed to guarantee decent living, with some 700 million workers wallowing in poverty. Unemployment around the world fell last year to 5.0 percent -- from 5.1 percent in 2017 -- for the first time dropping to the level seen before the global financial crisis hit in 2008, the International Labour Organization said. 
Read more

 

The mighty US dollar is getting even stronger. When Fed chair Jerome Powell signaled last month that rate hikes probably won't happen anytime soon, many experts thought that would hurt the dollar. Powell said the central bank needed to be "patient" and see what happens next for the US economy. 
Read more

 

Mark your calendars. The world has just a few weeks to avert a dangerous slowdown in the global economy. Two deadlines next month will have a huge impact on how the global economy fares in 2019. Depending on what happens when they pass, it could shake off a recent slump or slide towards a recession. 
Read more

 

Mortgage rates hit a 12-month low as economic expansion looks increasingly vulnerable. Rates for home loans fell to the lowest in a year as inflation cooled and investors braced for a slowing global economy. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.37% in the February 14 week, mortgage guarantor Freddie Mac said Thursday. 
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JPMorgan is creating its own cryptocurrency 
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Ford announced Wednesday it is recalling 1.5 million of its best-selling F-150 pickup trucks due to a glitch in its transmission system that can lead to accidents. The defect is present on some 2011 models of the truck with six-speed automatic transmission that can experience "a temporary, unintended downshift into first gear" because of a sensor problems. 
Read more

 

Coke stock heads for worst day since 2008, Nvidia looks to capitalize on ‘positive set up’ Published: Feb 14, 2019 10:15 a.m. ET 
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Amazon has said it will not build a new headquarters in New York, citing fierce opposition from state and local politicians. The dramatic turnabout comes just months after the firm named New York City one of two sites selected for major expansion over the next decades. 
Read more

 

China has posted a surprise jump in exports, suggesting its economy could be holding up better than expected as it tries to negotiate an end to the trade war with the United States. The value of Chinese goods exported in January grew 9% from a year earlier, according to government data published in Beijing on Thursday. 
Read more

 

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is in talks with Germany’s Metro about taking a stake in the German wholesaler’s China operations, three sources told Reuters on Thursday. 
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The Dutch government sees Brexit not as the elephant in the room but as a giant Muppet-style monster lying on a desk. That is the picture tweeted by Foreign Minister Stef Blok, with the warning: "make sure Brexit doesn't sit - or lie - in your way". 
Read more

 

A hard, no-deal Brexit, could have "very dramatic" consequences for the European car industry, a sector leader warned Wednesday while unveiling the 2019 sales forecast.Carlos Tavares, head of the French PSA group who also chairs the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (EAMA), also urged London and Brussels to reach a trade deal before Britain leaves the European Union on March 29. 
Read more

 

If nothing changes in the next 45 days, the United Kingdom will crash out of the European Union with as much as 60% of its trade at risk of disruption. Leaving the European Union without a deal means losing preferential access to the bloc's vast market, putting nearly half of UK trade at risk from higher tariffs and other costs. 
Read more

 

German economy narrowly avoids recession 
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The European Union pushed ahead Wednesday with an agreement that will allow Russia to continue to build a new gas pipeline to Europe, despite US warnings it posed a security risk. The EU's revised gas directive aims to establish common gas market rules for pipelines entering the bloc from a third country, with all the focus on Russia's Nord Stream 2 project which will pipe gas to Germany. 
Read more

 

Stock News

 

Newcrest profit up on record Cadia result 
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South32 Ltd has posted an 18 per cent rise in half-year underlying profit as a surge in metallurgical coal output and stronger commodity prices helped boost its bottom-line. 
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The Takeovers Panel has accepted a range of undertakings by Flinders Mines aimed at making its proposed delisting fairer on minority shareholders of the company. Earlier this week, the panel made a declaration of unacceptable circumstances in the proposed delisting process, suggesting among other things that it had the potential to coerce shareholders into selling their shares. 
Read more

 

Victoria's Latrobe Valley coal-to-hydrogen pilot project gets green light from EPA 
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Woodside Petroleum has surprised investors with a fat dividend after reporting a 36 per cent rise in annual profit, underpinned by stronger oil prices. 
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Arafura Resources appoints experienced executive Mark Southey as chairman The company published the results of a definitive feasibility study at the Nolans Rare Earths Project in February 2019 indicating a strong return on investment. 
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Chinese looking down the barrel of $140m loss — is this the worst deal in Australian gold mining history? 
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Black Rock Mining substantial shareholder lifts stake to 21.52%. Copulos Group has increased its holding in the company to almost 116 million shares after recent on-market transactions valued at $400,000. 
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A major expansion of BHP's Olympic Dam mine is a step closer, with the South Australian Government declaring it a major development proposal. The expansion would increase the mine's copper production by 75 per cent and employ a workforce of 1,800 during the construction phase. 
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Magellan Financial Group shares have jumped after the funds manager increased its dividend by two-thirds on a 62 per cent lift in first-half profit. 
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Treasury Wine Estate has raised a glass to shareholders, upping its interim dividend following a 15.1 per cent lift in first-half profit to $201.1 million. The world's largest listed winemaker reported its best ever sales revenue growth, up 13 per cent on a constant currency basis for the six months to December 31. 
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Breville shares have soared to an all-time high after an expansion into Germany and Austria helped satisfy investors' appetites and deliver a 19.7 per cent lift in first-half profit to $43.5 million. Shares in the kitchen appliance giant were up by 19.68 per cent, or $2.35, to $14.29 at 1300 AEDT on Thursday. 
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Telstra's half-year profit has tumbled 27 per cent to $1.2 billion as the telco feels the full force of the NBN taking away its wholesale fixed-line customers. Telstra has further slashed its interim dividend to just 5 cents per share, with an additional 3 cents of special dividend, taking the total to 8 cents. 
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I was not aware there was such a thing as breakfast pizza: the world is good again. Trade well, and play nice.