Good Evening,

Welcome to Equity Espresso’s Daily Recap. 

Markets traded positively for the majority of the day, with the ASX 200 index bobbing up above the 7,500 mark early in the session before petering out to close 5.0 pts or -0.07 lower to 7,489.10

Technology (-2.14%) stocks have continued their poor start to the new year, following another down night on the tech-heavy NASDAQ overnight. Wisetech (-3.41%), Xero (-2.54%) and NextDC (-0.30%) all finished the day lower. Materials (-0.94%) were another sector that some selling today, as BHP Group (-1.13%), Fortescue (-2.56%) and Rio Tinto (-1.63%) all ended the day in the red.

In company news, Core Lithium has temporarily suspended mining operations at the Grants Open Pit at its Finniss operation in the Northern Territory due to falling spodumene prices but will continue processing established stockpiles. Telix Pharmaceuticals is considering dual-listing on the U.S. stock exchange via an American Depositary Shares (ADS) listing. Magellan Financial Group shares rose after it reported a $0.6 billion increase in its Funds Under Management at the end of December but did experience net outflows of $0.2 billion. Bluebet shares rose by over 20% after media speculation in the AFR that the company is discussing merging with fellow bookmaker BetR.

Wall Street

The S&P 500 fell again on Thursday while the NASDAQ recorded its third straight day of declines in another sell-off as investors continue their profit-taking so far in 2024 following the strong end to last year.

A stronger-than-expected jobs report and a tick-up in 10-year bond yields didn’t help equity markets, with the benchmark 10-year note back close to 4.00%.

The financial sector was among the leading gainers in the S&P 500, thanks to Allstate, which hit an all-time high stock price of $148.50 after broker Morgan Stanley lifted its rating on the insurer to "overweight."

Economic Data

• U.S. Private businesses hired 164,000 workers in December, higher than a revised 101,000 in November and beating forecasts of 115,000. Leisure and hospitality led the way, as the sector added 59,000 jobs.

• U.S. Unemployment Benefit claims sank by 18,000 to 202,000 in the last week of 2023, well below market expectations of 216,000, marking the lowest claim count since October.

• German consumer price inflation (CPI) climbed to 3.7% year-on-year in December, in line with market consensus. This was an increase from November’s two-year low of 3.2%.

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Quick Singles

🪃 Local News

• Woodside Energy and Fortescue may face uncertainty over their hydrogen projects due to proposed changes in the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. The new restrictions require projects to use a clean electricity source that is "incremental" to existing generation, such as from new renewable energy plants, to access incentives of up to $US3 per kilogram for hydrogen production.

🌎️ Around The Globe

• Carrefour says it will no longer sell products, such as Pepsi, Lay's crisps and 7up, in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium as they have become too costly. The move impacts more than 9,000 stores across the four countries, amounting to two-thirds of the retailer’s global footprint.

• ESPN and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) have agreed to an eight-year extension of their media rights deal worth $920 million. The deal covers 40 championships, including international rights to the "March Madness" college basketball tournament.

• Samsung has announced its Galaxy launch event for January 17, touted as "Galaxy A.I.", signalling an A.I. focus with the promise of a "new era of mobile A.I." for the Galaxy S series.

• Xerox plans to cut 15% of its workforce as part of a plan to implement a new organisational structure and operating model, which has affected about 3,000 positions.

• Starbucks is adding the reusable cup option to their drive-thru and Starbucks app orders as part of an ongoing effort to reduce the amount of waste at its stores.

• Chipotle and fitness app Strava have teamed up for a new promotion. Strava has added new walking and running segments to its app. that lead to Chipotle locations, where users can compete to earn free bowls.

• SpaceX launched a rocket on Tuesday carrying 21 Starlink satellites that can beam signals directly to smartphones from space, some of which will help eliminate cellular dead zones.

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A Little Extra

📉 Going Down?

Top-10 shorted stocks on the ASX - as of December 29

👨‍💼 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.