ASX200 Afternoon Wrap 30th of March 2022

The ASX200 added 50 points (0.67%) today to close at 7514.50 after earlier hitting an intraday high of 7533, just 100 points or 1.3% below its August 2021 bull market high.

With just one full trading day left before month and quarter-end, the ASX200 has rallied over 6.5% this month, its largest one month gain since the US Presidential election in November 2020.

For anyone that has dared to bet against the local market, it may get worse before it gets better. April is statistically the ASX200’s second strongest month of the year, and with the local market in beast mode, it would be a brave trader to stand in the way of a move towards 7700 in the weeks ahead.

For the second session in a row, the IT Sector has been best on ground, enjoying the support of a chunky rebound in bonds and lower yields.

Life 360 (360) has added 9.63% to be trading at $5.92. Afterpay owner Block (SQ2) added 6.12% to $194.36, a fresh record high after listing on the local bourse. Xero (XRO) added 5.28% to $107.66, while Megaport (MP1) added 6.97% to $14.12, rounding out the top five.

A second day of gains for Health Care stocks, led by Fisher&Paykel Healthcare (FPH) which added 4.16% to $23.05. Cochlear (COH) added 1.77% to $222.75. Resmed (RMD) added 0.77% to $32.78, Ansell (ANN) added 1.77% to $25.82. Biotech giant CSL added 1.77% to close at $270.05.

Taking their lead from moves on Wallstreet overnight, travel stocks are amongst the day’s winners. Qantas (QAN) added 2.14% to $5.26, Flight Centre (FLT) added 0.90% to $20.11, Webjet (WEB) added 2.13% to $5.75, while Corporate Travel (CTD) chimed in with a 1.42% gain to $24.21.

Supported by a voter-friendly pre-election Federal Budget, retailers are riding high today, buoyed by the knowledge that Australian households are sitting on a $400bn pile of savings accumulated during the pandemic.

Kogan.com (KGN) has added 5% to $5.88, Nick Scali (NCK) added 2.17% to $11.77, Harvey Norman (HVN) added 1.78% to $5.71 and JB Hi Fi (JBH) added 1.16% to $55.85.

Although a lot of the chatter this month has been around the performance of the Materials and Energy sectors, the Financial Sector has had a monster month, up over 13.5% from its March 7 lows.

Westpac (WBC) added 0.91% to $24.51, National Australia Bank (NAB) added 0.84% to $32.37, closing at its highest level since November 2017. ANZ closed flat at $27.88, Commonwealth Bank (CBA) added 0.66% to $107.07. Macquarie (MCQ) added 2.10% to $207.09.

Crude oil is trading at $105.17 after briefly dipping below $100 overnight on signs of progress in Russian-Ukraine peace talk and on demand concerns after Shanghai launched a phased lockdown to curb surging Omicron cases and suspended public transport.

Beach Energy (BPT) fell 0.93% to $1.59, Santos (STO) fell 0.63% to $7.87, while Woodside Petroleum (WPL) fell by 0.82% to $32.54.

A mixed day for the big miners, as the iron ore price holds steady at $150 p/t. BHP Group (BHP) fell by 0.08% to $50.58. Rio Tinto (Rio) closed flat at $116.91, while Fortescue Metals (FMG) added 1.59% at $19.80.

The AUDUSD is trading firmer at .7522, building towards another run at the .7555 high of October 2021.

Source Tradingview. The figures stated are as of Mar 30, 2022. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This report does not contain and is not to be taken as containing any financial product advice or financial product recommendation

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