End of Day – Wed 29 June

Marcus Today Market Updates

The ASX 200 closed down 63 points to 6700 (-0.9%). The market made a small recovery through the second half of the session but still finished in the red. Institutional portfolio rebalancing, as we approach the end of the quarter a feature. Financials, consumer staples and energy were the only sectors that finished in positive territory. Energy names outperformed ahead of an OPEC + meeting tonight. Major producers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates look unlikely to be able to boost output significantly which is good news for the oil price. Not so good for taming inflation. Woodside (WDS) up 0.4% and Santos (STO) down 0.5%. Property and technology names led the market lower. The property sector was held back by a lot of companies trading ex-distribution. Transurban (TCL) also ex-dividend, down 0.8%. Telstra (TLS) off 1% and Macquarie Telecom (MAQ) down 1.8% despite a guidance upgrade. Liontown (LTR) up 5.2% on the back of an offtake deal with Ford. Pilbara (PLS) was down 3.8% despite lifting production guidance and lithium price forecasts. Tyro (TYR) off 16.7% as the CEO stepped down. BWX (BWX) was downgraded to neutral from buy at Citi. BNPL names fell on soft US consumer data. Block (SQ2) down 6.2%, Zip Co (ZIP) down 4.2%. ZIP now down ~95% in the last year to a six-year low. Retail sales up 0.9% in May ahead of consensus and hitting another record level according to the ABS. The rise was driven by department stores and cafes. Jerome Powell is attending an economic policy panel discussion tonight. The US also has a GDP number out but as it is the third release, it is unlikely to move the needle. Dow futures are up 42 points.
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