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Welcome to Equity Espresso’s Daily Recap. 

Markets fell on Monday as investors recouped some profit after last week’s record high, with the Materials (-2.6%) and Utilities (-1.5%) sectors taking the largest hits. The ASX200 index fell by 73.5 pts. or 0.96% to 7,625.9, as investors await Tuesday's Reserve Bank Policy decision. The Reserve Bank of Australia is currently in the midst of its two-day policy meeting under a new format. Analysts predict the central bank will keep the cash rate unchanged at 4.35% in the wake of the latest quarterly CPI report, which showed that inflation was slowing down at a faster pace than previously anticipated.

Mining companies were the heaviest hit today, with BHP Group (-2.4%), Rio Tinto (-2.2%) and Fortescue Metals (2.8%) all losing ground. In the Energy sector, Woodside Energy (-1.3%) and Santos (-0.8%) also fell.

Some of the winners today were John Lyng Group (+5.4%), which rose after it announced that it has entered into a partnership with USA-based insurance company Allstate, where it will join its Emergency Response and Mitigation Panel. The deal will give John Lyng USA access to a potential 16 million Allstate policyholders in the U.S. Pro Medicus (+3.7%) continues to set record highs, rising today after it launched its Visage Ease VP for the recently released Apple Vision Pro. The new technology is being trialled at a San Diego-based medical centre.

Silver Lake Resources (-11.4%) and Red 5 (+3.0%) announced that they would be merging, which sent their respective share prices in the opposite direction. As part of the deal, Red5 will acquire 100% of Silver Lakes' shares. Silver Lake shareholders will receive 3.434 Red 5 shares for every Silver Lake share held.

LGI (+4.0%) shares rose after the energy company said it plans to build a 4-megawatt renewable power station to extract gas from the Bingo Industries’ Eastern Creek Landfill

Appens' share price continues to go from bad to worse, dropping 5.4% to $0.26 after the data services company announced it was replacing boss Armughan Ahmad with chief operating officer Ryan Kolln.

Wall Street

U.S. stocks ended Friday’s session higher. The S&P 500 registered an all-time high close, gaining 1.07%, boosted by a surge in Meta Platforms and Amazon. The NASDAQ climbed 1.7%, as the three major U.S. stock indices notched their fourth consecutive weekly gains.

Meta Platforms added $196 billion in stock market value on Friday, surging 20%, marking the biggest one-day gain by any company in Wall Street history after declaring its first dividend and posting robust quarterly results.

Apple shares fell slightly on Friday despite reporting revenue growth in the past quarter for the first time in a year. The rise came despite a 13% decline in China sales. The company did not provide any guidance for the current quarter ending March.

Economic Data

• The U.S. economy added 353,000 jobs in January, slightly higher than the 333,000 added in December and way above market forecasts of 180,000.

• Average Hourly Earnings for U.S. employees rose by $0.19 or 0.6% to $34.55 in January, slightly above market expectations of a 0.3% rise.

• Australia's Trade Surplus on goods fell $10.96 billion in December 2023, from $11.76 billion in the previous month, compared to market forecasts of $11 billion.

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🌎️ Around The Globe

• Amazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to sell up to 50 million shares in the company over the next year, valued at approximately $8.6 billion.

• Turkey's central bank governor Hafize Gaye Erkan resigned on Friday, citing a need to protect her family amid a "reputation assassination."

• Tesla has scheduled a shareholder vote to decide whether the company should change its state of incorporation from Delaware to Texas. The vote has been called after a Delaware judge invalidated Elon Musk's $56 billion pay package, which was granted in 2018.

• Intel Corp. shares fell on Friday after reports stated the chipmaker is adjusting the timeline for its $20 billion chipmaking project in Ohio due to market challenges and slow disbursement of US grant money.

• Okta is cutting 7% of its staff to reduce costs, with the changes expected to impact about 400 employees. As a result of the job cuts, Okta estimates it will incur approximately $24 million in severance and benefits costs during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024.

• Lululemon is launching its first men’s footwear line and casual sneakers as the retailer looks for new avenues of growth. The retailer is debuting its first casual sneaker, dubbed “Cityverse,” along with two new running shoes that will all come in both men’s and women’s styles for the first time. The launches are expected to happen between February and May.

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A Little Extra

📉 Going Down?

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👨‍💼 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.