ASX200 Afternoon Report August 15th 2022

The ASX200 trades 41 points higher at 7074 at 3 pm Sydney time.

The ASX200 has stormed out of the blocks, looking to notch up a fifth straight week of gains for the first time since May 2021, shaking off news that a group of U.S. lawmakers were flying to Taiwan to meet Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.  

The Real Estate Sector added 1.88% as Mirvac Group added 3% to $2.19, Charter Hall Group added 2.5% to $12.74, Goodman Group added 1.73% to $20.54, Domain Australia added 1.74% to $4.09, while Stockland Group added 1.44% to $3.88.

Shrugging off a -0.3% fall in Nasdaq futures following their reopening this morning, the IT Sector has climbed by 1.55%. Megaport added 9.43% to $8.65, Novonix added 3% to $3.08, Wisetech Global added 2.55% to $54.21 and Xero added 2.25% to $96.88.

The PBOC’s surprise 10bp cuts to the 1yr MLF and 7-day reverse repo rates have helped the Materials Sector offset another round of dour Chinese economic data. Industrial output, retail sales and fixed asset investment all were weaker than expected.

Blue Scope Steel added 5.7% to $17.85 after taking advantage of strong steel prices to double its net profit to $2.81bn. Mineral Resources added 2.65% to $60.92, Lynas Rare Earths added 1.75% to $9.89, FMG added 1.5% to $19.22, and BHP added 1% to $39.20.

The Financial Sector has fallen, led by an 8.95% decline in Bendigo Bank to $9.86 after it released its Full Year results which noted interest rate margins (NIM) declined by 11bp to 1.69%. Westpac fell 1% to $22.42, NAB fell 0.1% to $30.75. CBA rose by 0.37% to $100.71; Macquarie rose by 1.45% to $181.18.

Last week’s best performer, the Energy Sector, has fallen -0.7% as Beach Energy fell 12.3% to $1.62 after it reported earnings well below market expectations and noted higher than expected costs. Cooper Energy fell 3.26% to $0.22c and Woodside energy fell 0.27% to $32.70.

Topping off a busy day, Lithium stocks have been at it again as Core Lithium surged 10% to $1.62 following an investor update. Lake Resources added 6.5% to $1.47, Galan Lithium added 4.73% to $1.44, and Iluka Resources added 1.4% to $10.26.

After consolidating its foothold above the critical psychological 7000 level last week, we are open-minded that the ASX200 has scope to extend its rally towards the 200-day moving average at 7166.

Source Tradingview. The figures stated are as of August 15th, 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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