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Topic:Stock Market
Wall Street bargain hunters re-entered the market on Friday causing a solid rebound across all sectors after brutal weeks of selling driving the market into correction.
The ASX has cautiously followed that lead opening 0.7 per cent higher.
Follow the day's financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters on our live blog.
Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.
By Stephen Letts
Prices current around 12:45pm AEDT
Live updates on major ASX indices:
By Stephen Letts
The ASX has opened the week higher after Wall Street's S&P 500 put on 2% to close the week.
While not in lock step with the US rebound, all sectors have made gains and the ASX 200 was up 0.7% at 7,840 points 12:50pm AEDT.
The banks are generally making gains with only NAB going backwards after news that its long-term CFO was heading across to Westpac.
The miners all opened higher on expectations of positive news out of China on a new stimulus package for the domestic economy.
The big winner this morning is small cap EFTPOS operator Smartpay up 48% to 79 cents on a takeover offer from rival player Tyro which offering around 90 cents a share.
On the ASX 200 the big winner so far is Mineral Resources on the back of a hefty broker upgrade from UBS.
Uranium miner Deep Yellow (-4.2%) is the poorest performer on the ASX 200 so far, while Qantas is down 2.4% as part of a global sell-off in aviation.
By Stephen Letts
The trade barriers being built by the US are the most obvious example of nations abandoning free trade and globalisation, but not the only ones.
So, where does Australia fit into this new trend of refashioning industrial policy in the name of self-sufficiency and sovereign capability?
Gareth Hutchens checked it out in this terrific piece.
By Daniel Ziffer
Hi team,
Just jumping in with an interesting update on the four-day week.
Conceptually it doesn't make any sense: getting paid the same to work fewer hours — and getting the same amount done.
So why is it working?
The Greens have today announced an election policy that aims to pave the way for more people to enjoy the four-day week, with nationwide trials and a national institute to coordinate them.
"Ordinary Australians have been working hard for decades and not seeing a fair share of the results. A 4-day week will share more fairly the products of their labour," Greens Senator Barbara Pocock said in a statement.
"Productivity gains over the past two decades have fed into higher profits while real wages have stagnated. A shorter working week alleviates the burden of stress and burn-out. International trials have repeatedly shown productivity increases and a healthier, happier workforce result from shorter working hours.
"The Greens' policy will initiate a series of national trials in different industries where workers work 80% of their normal hours while maintaining 100% of pay. It’s a win-win for everybody."
On paper, the four-day week doesn't work. But in Australian and international trials, 95% of companies that have tried it have kept it.
There are some ideas about why. A lot of it is about the collision of forces that have changed modern work.
You have a shortage of skilled workers, the blurring of work/life time (and the need to do 'life admin' during working hours), and a substantial change in the economy towards so-called knowledge and creative work.
Many of these roles and industries are focused on — and paid by — output rather than time. A system that allows people to focus and compress their work, freeing up a day a week that is spent on rest, exercise or life admin, allows higher efficiency and the same amount of output despite the reduced "work" hours.
Here's Senator Pocock again:
"The UK, Canada, Germany and Spain are leading the way with large scale trials involving thousands of workers. In the UK 92% of employers participating have reported they will continue the 4 day week after the trial ends. It’s time for Australia to move its workplaces into the 21st century and create a pathway for shorter hours.
“The Greens will support a 4 day work week test case through the Fair Work Commission aiming to reduce working hours with no loss of pay.
“Our society is changing, more women and carers are at work, yet we are constrained by archaic labour laws that see the fruits of our efforts swallowed up in profits for bosses and shareholders. This is about justice for working people. We work to live not live to work.
“This is a policy that’s good for everyone. It can increase productivity, reduce absenteeism, improve recruitment and retention and give employees more time to manage their home life. This change will allow workers to create a working week that works for them.”
A couple of years ago I talked to some businesses about why they'd taken on — and kept — the four-day week. Check it out (on your personal, non-work time).
By Stephen Letts
The ASX has opened higher after Wall Street's S&P 500 put on 2% to close the week.
While not in lock step with the US rebound, all sectors have made gains and the ASX 200 was up 0.8% at 10:30am AEDT.
The banks were generally positive with only NAB going backwards after news that its long-term CFO was heading across to Westpac.
The miners have all opened higher on expectations of positive news out of China on a new stimulus package for the domestic economy.
The big winner this morning is small cap EFTPOS operator Smartpay up 42% to 73 cents on a takeover offer from rival player Tyro which offering around 90 cents a share.
That corporate action has also boosted Zip on the ASX 200 (+4.1%), while the index's big winner is Mineral Resources on the back of a hefty broker upgrade from UBS.
Uranium miner Deep Yellow (-3.5%) is the poorest performer on the ASX 200 so far, while Qantas is down 0.9% as part of a global sell-off in aviation.
By Stephen Letts
Prices current around 10:20am AEDT
Live updates on major ASX indices:
By Stephen Letts
Bargain Hunting or Dead Cat Bounce ?
– Craig
Thanks for the question, Craig re the use of bargain hunting vs "dead cat bounce" to describe Wall Street's Friday rebound. I guess terms are not mutually exclusive – buying what you think is a bargain doesn't necessarily translate to good value.
By Stephen Letts
It may not be what President Donald Trump intended, but his second crack at "Making America Great Again" has boosted the currencies of rival nations.
In the months leading up to the President's January inauguration, most developed economies saw their currencies struggling against the Greenback.
The euro fell more than 5% in the last two months of 2024, the British pound dropped 4% and the Aussie dollar was down close to 7%.
This year they all, plus many other big currencies, have rebounded.
The euro is up almost 6%, the Aussie is up 2% and Japan's yen is up 6%.
China's yuan, which arguably should have suffered more than others given it is Trump administrations tariff crosshairs, has sailed blithely through the turmoil thanks to the tightly managed nature of the currency.
In short, the US dollar has weakened this year against all other developed market currencies, except Canada's.
"Tariffs, generally speaking, tend to be good for the dollar," Barclays FX strategist Lefteris Farmakis told Reuters.
"But when they are applied against very close trading partners, they can harm confidence in the U.S."
The euro has been boosted as European nations, particularly Germany, have signalled increased defence and infrastructure spending and the ECB is likely to end its interest rate easing cycle.
The yen has benefited from the perception that Japan is something of a safe haven, as well as an improving economic outlook will see the BoJ start to raise interest rates again.
The big winner is Sweden's krona, or crown, that has appreciated almost 9% this year.
Sweden's economy has been humming along, and the fact that it has an outsized defence industry hasn't hurt either.
By Stephen Letts
There's been a bit of a reshuffle among the big banks' bean counters this morning.
NAB's chief financial officer Nathan Goonan is heading across to rival Westpac after 12 years in the role.
NAB's chief risk officer Shaun Dooley will be acting CFO while the bank searches for Mr Goonan's replacement.
NAB also announced it had recruited Canadian banker Andrew Auerbach to run its Business and Private Banking division replacing Rachel Slade, who will work as a senior advisor to CEO Andrew Irvine.
By Stephen Letts
Australia:
Tue: RBA speech — Bank chief economist Sarah Hunter speaks
Wed: Leading index (Westpac series)
Thu: Labour force (Feb), population growth (Sep)
International:
Mon: CH — retail sales, industrial production, infrastructure investment (Feb)
US — Retail sales (Feb), housing market index (Mar)
Tue: US — Industrial production (Feb), housing starts/building permits ((Feb)
Wed: US — Fed rates decision
JP — Bank of Japan rates decision
Thu: CH — loan prime rates decision
UK — Bank of England rates decision
NZ — GDP
The big release of the week from a local perspective will be Thursday's labour force data.
The jobs market is likely to continue to show strength, which is terrific news for the economy broadly, but arguably still the biggest stumbling block for more rates cuts in the near future.
The CBA is forecasting another 30,000 jobs were added in February with unemployment anchored at around 4.1%.
Internationally, interest rate decisions several big central banks will hold investor intention.
However, rates are expected remain unchanged after meetings by the Fed (Wednesday), Bank of Japan (Wednesday), Peoples' Bank of China (Thursday), the Bank of England (Thursday) and the Swiss National Bank (Thursday).
By Stephen Letts
Bit of corporate news in the EFTPOS world this morning, with NZ-based operator Smartpay receiving two separate takeover offers, including one from the ASX-listed Tyro.
In a statement to the ASX this morning, Smartpay said Tyro's unsolicited offer was to acquire 100% of its shares at $NZ1.00 a share (approximately 90 Australian cents).
Smartpay last traded on the ASX at 63 cents.
Smartpay didn't name the other interested party, but said both proposals were preliminary and highly conditional.
The EFTPOS world is currently struggling, with the RBA reviewing whether it would restrict fees the providers get for processing debit-card transactions.
By Stephen Letts
Wall Street's tumbling market finally fell enough to inspire some bargain hunters to get out their wallets.
The big three indices — the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq gained 2.1%, 1.7% and 2.6% respectively.
On the back of that ASX futures have priced in a 1.1% rise this morning.
But before any champagne is popped — something that may done very judiciously in the future if the Trump administration goes ahead with a 200% tariff on European luxury items — a bit of perspective is needed.
The S&P 500 fell another 2.4% last week and is down more than 10% from its recent peak.
The ASX lost 2% last week, while Japan gained 0.4% and China picked up 1.6%.
So, did anything much change in terms of fundamentals? No, not really.
Uncertainty and tumbling sentiment still seem to be the dominant emotions in the market.
"I don't see a catalyst that would spark this huge upside we're seeing in markets," Baird investment analyst Ross Mayfield, told Reuters after the market closed.
"We're obviously down 10% from all-time highs and pretty oversold, which sets good conditions for a rally even if the fundamental problems are not solved."
European markets also made solid gains — Germany's Dax gained almost 2% — and have been far more resilient recently, having shed less than 1% last week; cue much gnashing of teeth in the White House.
Gold briefly popped above $US3,000 for the first time, before easing back as profit takers found some willing buyers at that level from beaten up investors fleeing equities.
Despite and International Energy Agency report forecasting oil supply would exceed demand by around 600,000 barrels/day this year, crudes prices still rose as traders bet that there wouldn't be a quick resolution to the conflict in Ukraine.
The US dollar was stronger against a number of currencies, but not the Euro, nor the Aussie dollar which battled back above 63 US cents.
By Stephen Letts
Good morning and welcome to another week on the ABC markets and finance blog.
Stephen Letts from ABC business team limbering up for a blow-by-blow coverage of the day's events, where every post is hopefully a winner, but none should be construed as financial advice.
In short, it looks like a promising start to the week — ASX futures point to a 1.1% rise on opening after Wall Street rebounded sharply on Friday night.
The focus of the day will be the Chinese economy with the big monthly data drop — retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment data (a proxy for infrastructure investment) all to be released around lunchtime.
But of more interest will be a joint Chinese central bank (PBoC) and finance ministry media conference later today about measures being introduced to boost consumption.
As always, the game's afoot, so let's get blogging.
By Stephen Letts
Prices current around 7:20am AEDT
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