Good Evening,

Welcome to Equity Espresso’s Daily Recap. 

The Aussie market followed the positive lead from the U.S. overnight, with the ASX 200 index ending the session 37.5 pts or 0.5% higher to 7,506.0 in a rare positive day so far in 2024. It was almost a clean sweep on the sector boards, with 10 of the 11 major sectors ending in the green. Leading the way was Technology (+1.20%), followed by Financials (+1.05%) and Discretionary (+0.93%). Utilities (-0.24%) was the sole sector to close in the red.

Iron Ore futures contracts continue to fall, making it six straight negative sessions on Thursday as the benchmark February futures contracts fell around 0.2% to US$132.55/t. BHP Group (-0.10%), Fortescue (-1.89%) and Rio Tinto (-0.39%) all continued their recent share price dip.

In company news, mining explorer CZR Resources spiked 43% to $0.30 after it revealed plans to sell its Robe Mesa iron ore mine interest to Miracle Iron for $102 million. Pinnacle Investment Management's share price rose after it said it was cautiously optimistic about the second half of FY24.

The Cryptoverse was all abuzz today, with the long-awaited approval of the Bitcoin ETF now a reality, as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved 11 different applications, including from financial giants Blackrock, Ark Investments, Fidelity and VanEck. Most of the products are expected to commence trading in the next day or so, with the investment vehicle giving investors exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency without directly holding it.

Wall Street

It was green all over the boards overnight in the U.S., with the S&P 500 finishing +0.57% higher and within 1% of its all-time high, while the NASDAQ (+0.75%) continues its positive run, with Nvidia stock adding another 2.3% as it continues to eclipse all-time highs. The U.S. will release CPI data for December tonight; headline prices are expected to rise.

Infosys is the major company to report earnings tonight, while on Friday, U.S. banks will get their turn to shine, with JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and BlackRock all expected to drop quarterly reports.

Economic Data

• Australia's Trade Surplus on goods increased to $11.44 billion in November 2023 from $7.66 billion in October, beating market forecasts of $7.5 billion.

• The Bank of South Korea maintained its base rate at 3.5% during its first meeting of the new year, in line with expectations, keeping borrowing costs unchanged for the 8th consecutive meeting.

• The European Central Bank maintained interest rates at multi-year highs for the second consecutive meeting at 4.5%.
  

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Quick Singles

🪃 Local News

• BIG W and Woolworths won't be selling 'Australia Day' themed merchandise ahead of January 26. The Woolworths Group said the decision was due to declining demand for the merchandise and "broader discussion about January 26 and what it means to different parts of the community". Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says consumers should go hungry and boycott Woolworths due to the decision.

🌎️ Around The Globe

• Amazon announced on Wednesday that it will be laying off hundreds of employees in its streaming and studio operations, according to an internal note.

• Thomson Reuters has offered to buy Swedish e-invoicing and tax company Pagero for 6.4 billion Swedish crowns (US$627 million), beating an earlier offer from tax technology company Vertex.

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise will buy networking gear vendor Juniper Networks for about US$14 billion, or $40 per share, with the deal expected to close this year or early 2025.

• BlackRock plans to reduce its workforce by 3% to streamline operations and adapt to market changes, per a Reuters report.

• The World Bank forecasts global economic growth of 2.4% in 2024, down from 2.6% in 2023 and 3% in 2022, with the slowed growth attributed to rising geopolitical tensions and tighter credit conditions.

• Unity Software is laying off 25% of its staff as it tries to position itself for long-term profitability, with 1,800 people across all teams impacted by the company decision.

• Instagram and Facebook will now restrict harmful posts about self-harm and eating disorders on teen accounts. Users under 18 can no longer view this content, and searches for these topics will redirect users to expert resources.

• Getty Images has partnered with Nvidia to launch Generative AI by iStock, a platform that uses AI to generate images based on text. Small and medium businesses can use the service for $14.99, which includes 100 prompts with four AI-generated images per prompt.

   

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A Little Extra

📉 Going Down?

Top-10 shorted stocks on the ASX - as of January 5

👨‍💼 Director Transactions

What are the insiders doing? (On-market trade only)

DISCLAIMER: None of the information provided in this newsletter should be constituted as financial advice. This newsletter is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be taken as investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell assets or make financial decisions. Please do your research.