Gold Shines While ASX Inches Closer to Correction

March 13, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 13 minutes

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Welcome to Equity Espresso’s Market Recap. Our newsletter just got bigger. We have introduced new dedicated sections focusing on local stories and the evolving world of A.I. tools and innovations. Plus, if you are struggling to keep up with all the tariff developments, we've created a dedicated section that condenses everything you need to know.

Markets started the day positively, trading higher for most of the morning before taking a tumble and finishing the session lower. The S&P/ASX200 index lost 37.1 points (-0.48%) to finish at 7.749.10, making it eight negative days in the last ten trading days! This puts the major index down 9.4% from its recent high on February 14, edging ever so close to the 10% threshold that defines a market ‘correction’.

Consumer Staples (-0.94%) and Discretionary (-0.68%) stocks fell the most among the nine sectors that traded in the red. Coles Group (-1.31%), Treasury Wines Estates (-1.34%), and Harvey Norman (-1.19%) were some of the day’s worst performers in these sectors.

Coal companies had it tough today. Macquarie lowered its coal price forecasts due to softened demand and increased supply from Russia and Mongolia. Newcastle coal futures for delivery in March also fell to trade around US$103.25/t. Yancoal (-12.56%) tumbled, as did New Hope (-8.58%) and Whitehaven (-5.78%).

Gold’s reputation as a safe haven amid market turmoil shows no signs of wavering, with the precious metal rising again on Thursday to trade at around US$2,940/oz. Evolution Mining (+4.03%), Perseus Mining (+3.97%) and Sandfire Resources (+2.39%) were some of the big movers.

ASX Company News

  • Boss Energy (+1.84%) has agreed to purchase 23.5 million shares in Laramide Resources at C$0.60 per share, representing approximately 9% of the uranium developer's issued capital. The acquisition will increase Boss' stake in Laramide to approximately 18.4% on an undiluted basis, comprising around 48.1 million shares.

  • Capricorn Metals (+5.38%) has signed a binding agreement to acquire Serena Minerals' Kings Find Project. This acquisition secures approximately 54 square kilometers of highly prospective gold tenement directly north of its existing Mt Gibson Gold Project in Western Australia's Murchison region.

  • Nine Entertainment (-1.54%) has appointed Matt Stanton as chief executive following his five-month tenure in an acting capacity and an extensive international search.

  • Ora Banda Mining (+9.95%) has reported continued exploration success at its high-grade Riverina Gold Camp, following up on the initial discovery hole at Little Gem, which identified high-grade gold mineralization of 4.7m @ 7.4g/t associated with brecciated carbonate units.

  • Silk Logistics (-22.22%) shares fell after the ACCC raised preliminary competition concerns about DP World Australia's proposed acquisition, warning it could reduce container transport competition and lead to higher prices for importers and exporters.

ASX Indices

ASX Sector Performance

Wall Street

U.S. markets rebounded on Wednesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq (+1.22%) the big mover. The S&P 500 (+0.49%) made a more modest gain, and the Dow Jones (-0.20%) edged lower. Technology (-1.56%) shares led the advance, while Consumer Staples (-2.02%) and Healthcare (-1.02%) lagged. The recovery came after cooler-than-expected Consumer Price Index data reassured investors that inflation is moderating, keeping hopes alive for more interest rate cuts this year.

Groupon $GRPN ( ▲ 4.83% ) shares skyrocketed after the online marketplace company issued an impressive full-year revenue forecast of $493-500 million, exceeding analysts' expectations of $491.5 million. Novo Nordisk $NVO ( ▼ 1.51% ) shares fell following news that Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche had entered the competitive weight loss drug market with a deal worth up to $5.3 billion to develop Zealand Pharma's obesity treatment.

U.S. Indices

Fear & Greed Index

S&P 500 Sector Performance

Economic Data

  • The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate by 25bps to 2.75% in March, which was in line with expectations. This marks 225bps in rate cuts since the start of its loosening cycle in June 2024.

  • U.S. Annual Inflation eased to 2.8% in February 2025 from 3.0% in January, below forecasts of 2.9%. Energy costs declined 0.2% year-on-year, following a 1% rise in January.

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Quick Singles

🦘 Local News

  • ASIC is suing Australia's largest superannuation fund, Australian Super, for "significant delays" in processing thousands of death benefit claims between July 2019 and October 2024. ASIC alleges the fund failed to process claims "efficiently, honestly and fairly," with processing times ranging from four months to four years for nearly 7,000 death benefit claims.

  • BGH Capital has sold its stake in Melbourne-based Laurent Bakery Group to French bakery giant Bridor, valuing the business at approximately $650 million. According to the Australian Financial Review, the transaction was agreed upon in late December and completed last week.

  • Brad Banducci's retirement was short-lived. The former Woolworths CEO joined TEG, the owner and operator of Ticketek, as its CEO.

🌎️ Around The Globe

  • The Federal Trade Commission is advancing its antitrust investigation into Microsoft to determine whether the company's profits from other business segments provide it an unfair advantage in the A.I. sector.

  • Pokemon Go creator Niantic Labs has been acquired by Saudi-owned Scopely for $3.5 billion. The mobile gaming juggernaut has generated $8 billion since its 2016 launch, maintains over 100 million users in 2024, and helped Niantic's portfolio earn more than $1 billion last year.

  • Puma shares fell nearly 20%—their worst drop ever—after the German athletic footwear company slashed profit forecasts and announced 500 job cuts as part of a restructuring plan. The company expects 2025 earnings between €520 and 600 million ($567 and 654 million), well below analyst projections.

  • Spotify paid the music industry a record-breaking $10 billion in royalties in 2024—the highest annual payment from any single retailer in history, according to the company's Loud & Clear report released Wednesday.

🤖 All About AI

  • Google has launched Gemma 3, an enhanced A.I. model that supports 35+ languages and multimedia analysis capabilities. Touted as the best single-accelerator A.I. globally, it outperforms competitors while running on a single GPU with improved Nvidia support.

  • iRobot shares collapsed by 35% after the Roomba maker warned investors of "substantial doubt” about its survival "as a going concern" over the next year. The robotics company, facing intense competition from lower-priced rivals, reported a 47% revenue drop in the fourth quarter.

  • OpenAI has launched new tools within its Responses API, which enable developers and enterprises to build autonomous A.I. agents using the company's models and frameworks.

Markets
ASX Company Movers
Commodity Prices
Bonds
Forex
Global Health Check

Tariff Watch

🚢 The T Word

Can’t keep up with all the tariff news?
We’ll provide you a round-up of the latest on the tariff ‘wars’

  • China has imposed a 25% tariff on various U.S. agricultural products, including soybeans, pork, beef, seafood, cotton, chicken, and corn.

  • The European Union has announced retaliatory tariffs on approximately €26 billion ($28 billion) worth of U.S. goods, effective April 1. These tariffs target a wide range of products, including boats, bourbon, motorcycles, industrial items, and agricultural products.

  • The U.S. has imposed a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports from multiple countries, including Australia, China, Canada, and E.U. member states.

ETF Prices

🔍️ ETF Watch

Australian Index
Australian Sectors
Global Indices & Sectors
Global Strategy
Property & Infrastructure
Fixed Income
Mixed Assets
Geared

*1-year, 3-year and 5-year returns are calculated as of January 31, 2025.

A Little Extra

👇️ Short Data

Top 10 shorted stocks on the ASX - as of March 7

💠 The Insiders

Director buying and selling.
On-market and Off-market trades only.
Net Buy/Sell positions from February 27 - March 12

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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 research before making any investment.