Day Trading Pre-market Open - 25 Jan 2019

Good morning traders. Thanks to @ttward, @Ravgnome and the Aftermarket loungers. Hope you all are surviving the heat over there. Australia Day on Monday, hope you all have an enjoyable long weekend.

Nancy and Donald have been havin a bit of a boxing match in the US, and it’s not bringing anyone any closer to an end of the Govt shutdown. Day 34 now.

I know we are used to wild swings on stock around here, but this was impressive by anyones standards; Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd., Singapore’s largest company by market value, plunged 83 percent on Thursday before quickly rebounding. The exchange said an influx of pre-market sell orders caused the dramatic drop. Shares sank just before the regular session began, with about 167,500 changing hands at just $10.99, compared with Wednesday’s close of $66.47. Jardine, the flagship investment firm of a 186-year-old conglomerate, soon recovered from the $41 billion wipeout and ended up closing 0.5 percent higher.

 

The Australian share market has edged up to close higher, but the Aussie dollar took a dive after NAB joined its big four rivals in hiking its variable mortgage rates.

The local currency was up after new data revealed the unemployment rate fell, but NAB's move immediately pushed the Aussie back down amid concern the RBA might cut rates later in the year.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 22 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 5,865.7 at 1630AEDT on Thursday, while the broader
All Ordinaries was up 21.8 points, or 0.37 per cent, higher at 5,930.5.

At the close the Aussie dollar was buying 71.09 US cents, from 71.38 US cents on Wednesday.

"With the banks moving out of cycle from the RBA, and the way home prices are cooling, you have the RBA probably not wanting to exacerbate that particular situation," CommSec markets analyst James Tao told AAP.

"The fact that banks are lifting rates on their own back might keep the RBA on the sidelines, or they might even cut rates, which is something that the market is starting to price in a lot more than it was six or 12 months ago."

Australia's major lenders all closed in the green, with NAB shares lifting 0.29 per cent to $24.58 after they announced they were raising standard variable rates for both owner-occupiers and investors.

Commonwealth Bank closed higher at 0.53 per cent to $72.51, ANZ was up at 0.82 per cent to $25.92 while Westpac Banking closed up 0.47 per cent to $25.72.

Major miners were the second biggest movers on the ASX on Thursday after several companies released their quarterly results reports.

Santos finished 3.86 per cent higher at $6.19 following their strong quarterly report, but not all shares in the sector fared as well.

Galaxy Resources finished lower at 6.25 per cent to $2.10, as did Evolution Mining down 4.13 per cent to $3.71, and Regis Resources down 2.63 per cent to $4.82.

Gold miners Northern Star and St Barbara both received broker downgrades after weak quarterly numbers, falling 5.41 per cent to $8.21, and 4.69 per cent to $4.47 respectively.

The energy sector was by far the strongest locally, rising 2.07 per cent as Santos jumped 3.86 per cent following the announcement its 2019 gas production could rise by up to 32 per cent.

The country's number two independent gas producer has been boosted by the acquisition of Quadrant assets.

Caltex rose 1.25 per cent to $26.66, Origin Energy 1.84 per cent to $7.21 and Oil Search 1.87 per cent to $7.64.

ON THE ASX:

* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 22 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 5,865.7 at 1630 AEDT on Thursday

* The All Ordinaries was up 21.8 points, or 0.37 per cent, higher at 5,930.5

* At 1630 AEDT, the SPI200 futures index was up 16 points, or 0.28 per cent, at 5,808

CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1630 AEDT:

One Australian dollar buys:

* 71.05 US cents, from 71.38 US on Wednesday

* 77.85 Japanese yen, from 78.26

* 62.40 euro cents, from 62.81

* 54.35 British pence, from 55.12

* 104.87 NZ cents, from 105.25

GOLD:

The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1630 AEDT was $US1,281.15 per fine ounce, from $US1,283.73 on Wednesday.

In Asia,

Asian shares inched up in subdued trade on Thursday after Wall Street ended higher, but political uncertainty in the United States and worries about weakening global economic growth kept many investors on the sidelines.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.3 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei average eased 0.1 percent.

“There is no new news to buy, and there are no fresh triggers to sell. Investors are staying on the sidelines,” said Yasuo Sakuma, chief investment officer at Libra Investments.

China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite and the blue-chip CSI 300 climbed 0.5 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively, taking positive cues from financial firms’ profits and the approval for a new technology board in Shanghai. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.3 percent.

Japan’s manufacturing growth stalled in January as export orders fell at the fastest pace in 2-1/2 years, a preliminary business survey showed Thursday, offering the latest sign of slower growth hitting a major developed economy.

More companies warned of weakening demand in China, including South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc, the world’s second-biggest
memory chipmaker, and Hyundai Motor.

Analysts at Capital Economics warned that China’s economic slowdown looks set to be of a similar scale to that in 2015-16, though there are some significant differences so far, most notably less downward pressure on the yuan and no signs of major capital outflows.

“Since China makes up 19 percent of the world economy, the slowdown this year compared to last will knock 0.2 percentage points off global growth.”

Read more

 

In Europe,

For the first time in a decade, European Central Bank officials are looking at a slowing economy without plans to increase stimulus.

Policy makers are likely to confirm after their Thursday meeting that monetary support has peaked despite signs of a deteriorating outlook. Their argument: record-low interest rates and 2.6 trillion euros ($3 trillion) of public and private sector bonds bought under quantitative easing will continue to bolster growth and keep financing conditions favorable. Read more

 

Germany’s industrial slump worsened at the start of 2019, dragging the euro-area economy into its worst performance in more than five years.

IHS Markit’s monthly index showed manufacturing in Germany shrank for the first time in four years. In the euro area it barely grew, and a broader measure of activity dropped to the weakest since 2013. Read more

In the United States,

The S&P 500 and the Dow edged lower on Thursday as lingering anxieties about slowing global growth and unresolved trade disputes kept buyers at bay, but chipmakers rallied to push the Nasdaq into the black.

While fourth-quarter earnings continued to be generally upbeat, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’ comments that the United States and China were “miles and miles” from reaching a trade agreement curbed investor enthusiasm.

Chipmakers led the Nasdaq’s rise, as Xilinx Inc and Lam Research Corp reported quarterly results that beat analyst expectations. Texas Instruments Inc, while posting better-than-expected profit, disappointed on revenue.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 81.35 points, or 0.33 percent, to 24,494.27, the S&P 500 lost 3.91 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,634.79 and the Nasdaq Composite added 27.79 points, or 0.4 percent, to 7,053.56.

Of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 six were in the red, with the biggest percentage declines in consumer staples, healthcare and materials

Read more

 

Australian News

A rise in the kiwi has given a small lift to the Australian dollar, which had lost ground overnight as a report of problems in Sino-US trade talks soured risk sentiment globally. The Aussie was last at 71.28 US cents, having fallen 0.4 per cent overnight to as far as 71.16 US cents. Read more

It has been known for some time that the Australian real estate market cannot go on the way that it has been without the economy seeing effects. As the debt-to-income ratio rockets upward, there is a growing sentiment that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will have to act to arrest a weakening dollar. Read more

Australian dollar heading to 60 US cents this year, warns economist Read more

The Morrison government will go into this year's election campaign riding the strongest jobs market in seven years, with new figures showing unemployment falling and giving a boost to cash-strapped households. Despite signs out of the retail and property sectors of a slowdown through the end of 2018, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported the jobless rate edged down to 5 per cent in December after the creation of 21,600 jobs. Read more

Jobless rate falls but WA still lags behind rest of the country Read more

Consumers and property professionals' expectations of further falls in house prices are leaving them anxious, with a new survey finding more Australians are opting to renovate rather than sell their homes over the coming year. Read more

NAB has finally joined its big four rivals in hiking variable mortgage rates. NAB had for months resisted following Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and ANZ in imposing out-of-cycle rate hikes — citing a desire to reward customer loyalty and build trust — but on Thursday said it was raising standard variable rates for both owner-occupiers and investors. Read more

'Old car' coal plants aren't going to get any better warns AEMO. The energy market operator has warned the nation's coal fired power plants will break down more often after it had to ask businesses to shut down to keep the lights on during a scorching day in Victoria. Read more

As Victoria struggled to ensure it had enough power top keep the lights on it was still exporting energy to New South Wales. Victoria faced a heatwave on Thursday that pushed its electricity grid to its limits as demand for power rose to try and beat the heat. Read more

The iconic Polly Waffle chocolate bar will return to Australian supermarket shelves, after the brand was acquired by a South Australian confectionary company. Robern Menz, the company that last year revived the Violet Crumble, will take ownership of the brand, trademark and famous recipe under an agreement with food production giant Nestle. 
Read more

 

World News

Some bad news for @cleo’s Manchester United; Real Madrid and Barcelona have overtaken them as top earning clubs. Read more

Once seen as a laggard in the global mining industry, U.S. copper deposits have quietly drawn more than $1.1 billion in investments from small and large miners alike as Tesla and other electric carmakers scramble for more of the red metal.Read more

Dozens of US industry groups sent a letter to the Trump administration on Wednesday pleading for an end the economic pain caused by steep US tariffs on steel and aluminum. In addition to increased costs for any company importing metal products or components, many other industries are suffering from the retaliation imposed by countries like China and Mexico.
Read more

BuzzFeed, the progenitor of both serious news and viral listicles and quizzes, will lay off about 15 per cent of its staff in the latest sign of financial turbulence for once-highflying digital-media outlets. People at the New York-based publisher said the cuts will affect about 215 employees spread across all departments, including BuzzFeed News, the site that published a disputed report last week about President Donald Trump and his
former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.Read more

Brexit uncertainty is a disgrace, says Airbus.Airbus has warned that it could move wing-building out of the UK in the future if there is a no-deal Brexit. The planemaker's chief executive, Tom Enders, said Airbus "will have to make potentially very harmful decisions for the UK" in the event of no deal. Read more

Putin’s plan to slowly reclaim Russia’s lost empire. Despite losing the Baltics and Ukraine, Putin has largely managed to hold the huge Russo-Soviet empire together. Here’s how Read more

China targets "quality and efficiency" in economic growth drive. China will be able to sustain steady growth during the next 12 months despite global uncertainties, according to Vice President Wang Qishan. He said that "quality and efficiency" are the top priorities rather than quick fixes during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Read more

Stock News

The flurry of special dividends from listed investment companies in the past week as they recycled the franking credits generated by last year’s $US5.2 billion BHP share buy-back will be food for thought for any company with franking credit reserves. As it happens, even after the $US5.2 billion special dividend it paid this month BHP still has a vast store of them, indeed the largest store of them. Read more

Mayur Resources’ DFS confirms strong economics for cement and lime manufacturing plant in PNG
Read more

Neometals Ltd (ASXNMT) non-executive director Jenny Purdie has purchased 44,248 ordinary fully paid shares in on-market trades. The company is pursuing a downstream integration strategy which involves production of higher-value lithium chemicals and capturing value from end-of-life lithium-ion battery recycling. Read more

88 Energy prepares to mobilise rig for Winx-1 exploration well.88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E, ASX:88E) told investors that it expects to mobilise the drill rig for the Winx-1 exploration well in the next seven days. It comes as the company, in a statement, said that ice road construction to the well site is now around 85% complete. Read more

The country's number two independent gas producerSantos expects 2019 production to rise by up to 32 per cent, boosted by the acquisition of Quadrant assets. The company expects to churn out 71 million to 78 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) in 2019, Santos said in a statement. Read more

Japanese industrial giant Sumitomo has taken a foothold in the retail electricity market by buying WA’s biggest solar power company, Infinite Energy, out of private hands for an undisclosed sum. The cash purchase from Infinite’s six shareholders led by co-founder and
managing director Aidan Jenkins adds to a local Sumitomo portfolio of energy interests that includes the Newgen Kwinana and Bluewaters power plants.Read more

Esports Mogul Asia Pacific Ltd (ASX:ESH) will launch its inaugural Asia-focused Silver Slam tournament series on February 5 with strategic partner Razer Inc. Anticipated to drive user acquisition, Silver Slam will have an overall prize pool of $275,000 and host daily tournaments in 16 game titles across multiple platforms including PC, mobile and console.
Read more

Out of respect for your fellow traders, please include Stock Codes in your posts.

I reckon a few more of you will opt for the smoothie today. Also a special something for @Trees.