Good Evening,

Welcome to Equity Espresso’s Daily Recap. The Christmas recap edition.

The Australian stock market failed to maintain its rally on the last trading day before Christmas. Despite early morning futures indicating a rise in line with strong gains on Wall Street, it finished flat.

The S&P/ASX 200 index experienced a slight dip of 2.5 points or 0.03%, closing at 7501.6. However, there were gains in the energy sector, which was up by 0.6%, and the real estate sector, which was up by 0.5%. Please note that the ASX will remain closed on Monday and Tuesday for Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and trading will resume on Wednesday.

Lynas Rare Earths was the top performer among large-cap companies throughout the day, with its shares rising by 3.53 per cent despite China's ban on the export of some rare-earth processing technology. Pilbara Minerals (up 2.6 per cent) and Whitehaven Coal (up 2.3 per cent) were the second and third best performers respectively. At the end of the day, only the energy (up 0.6 per cent), mining (up 0.3 per cent), information technology (up 0.3 per cent), and real estate (up 0.5 per cent) sectors were trading positively.

Fortescue's stock price reached a historical high of $28.40, exceeding expectations due to the healthy demand for iron ore for winter restocking ahead of the Chinese New Year. The price of iron ore rose by 2.6% overnight, reaching $US137.35 per tonne. However, Fortescue's stock price ended the day slightly lower at $28.35.

The Australian sharemarket experienced a decline in the consumer staples and industrials sectors, which were down 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively. Among the large-cap companies, Mercury NZ saw the biggest decline, with a fall of 3.8% in its share price, followed by EBOS Group, which saw a decline of 2.6%.

Core Lithium plummeted by 21.2% after announcing the suspension of works at its BP33 project in the Northern Territory and the possibility of halting production at its existing Grants mine.

Economic Data

• The annual inflation rate in Japan dropped to 2.8% in November 2023 from 3.3% in the prior month, pointing to the lowest print since July 2022.

• The annual inflation rate in Malaysia fell to 1.5% in November 2023 from 1.8% in the prior month, less than market forecasts of 1.7%.

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Quick Singles

🌏 Around The Globe

• Wells Fargo employees at its Albuquerque, New Mexico branch voted to join a union on Wednesday, while some of the other bank employees at the bank’s branch in Bethel, Alaska, withdrew from the unionization effort.

• Citigroup Inc. has decided to exit the distressed-debt trading business, the latest retrenchment in Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser’s effort to reshape the firm in pursuit of higher returns.

• Toyota Motor (7203.T) said on Wednesday it will recall 1.12 million vehicles worldwide because a short circuit in a sensor could cause airbags not to deploy as designed.

• Tesla faces an inquiry by Norway's traffic safety regulator into suspension failures in the company's EVs that could result in a recall.

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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.