Market Recap: A Cautious Rise Ahead of Tariff Speech

Good Evening,

Welcome to Equity Espresso’s Daily Market Recap. Markets made modest gains today while waiting for tomorrow's tariff drama to unfold like the season finale of Severence. Let’s jump in.

Local Market

Markets jumped in early trade, with the S&P/ASX 200 index climbing as much as 0.6% before gradually retracing throughout the day to finish just 9.3pts. (+0.12%) higher in a more balanced session. Six of the 11 major sectors closed higher, with Real Estate (+1.63%) topping the sector board for the second consecutive day, while Materials (-1.61%) and Energy (-1.29%) fell.

The large miners were the day’s biggest drag, with BHP Group (-1.47%), Fortescue (-1.60%) and Rio Tinto (-1.73%) all falling by similar amounts. James Hardie (-0.60%) shares fall again, hitting a near two-year low.

Energy companies fell on reports that OPEC is planning to lift oil outputs in the coming month's stocks after stock levels rose in March. Woodside Energy (-1.53%) and Yancoal (-1.57%) saw some of the sharpest falls.

Later in the newsletter, we do a deep dive into two of ASX’s shining stars, Hub24 and Netwealth and why investors are paying a premium for them (Pro subscribers only)

Tomorrow is the day markets have been waiting for: “Liberation Day”, aka Tariff Day. President Trump is scheduled to speak at 7:00 am AEDST tomorrow. Set your alarms, brew the coffee and let the shenanigans begin. We will, of course, provide a round-up of all the key items to know and how they affect the ASX in tomorrow’s newsletter.

ASX Indices

ASX Sector Performance

ASX200 Heatmap

DISCLAIMER: Please note that the information provided in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. It is not intended to encourage you to buy/sell assets or make economic decisions. We strongly recommend conducting your own research before making any investment.