Good Evening,

Welcome to Equity Espresso’s Daily Recap. 

The Aussie market fell for the fourth straight day on Monday, with the ASX 200 index ending the day down 37.6 pts or 0.5% to 7,451.5. The fall came after a hotter-than-expected U.S. jobs report dropped over the weekend, with 216,000 jobs added during December, well above market forecasts of 170,000.

All 11 sectors closed in red, with Health Care (-0.76%), Technology (-0.76%), and Materials (-0.73%) as the worst performers. Energy was the best of the lot, down by only 0.03% as Uranium companies drove the sector higher, with Boss Energy (+8.5%) and Paladin Energy (+3.5%) being the best performers. Uranium prices continue to trade at 16-year highs of US$91.00/lbs.

In company news, Kali Metals(KM1) debuted on the ASX with a standout rally after completing an oversubscribed initial public offering last week. The lithium company jumped 74% to 43.5¢ per share on its first trading day. Gold producer Red5(RED) saw its share price rise by 3.6% after it said it was on track to hit the upper range of its FY24 guidance. Metcash(MTS) announced a significant coup, hiring former Premier Investments and JB Hi-Fi chief executive Richard Murray to run its Total Tools business. Core Lithium (CXO) shares went from bad to worse, losing another 17.45 to $0.19 after the company halted mining operations at its Northern Territory project after a fall in the price of lithium.

Wall Street

U.S. stocks ended an up-and-down session on Friday slightly higher; however, the positive session didn’t stop the S&P 500 and NASDAQ from recording one of the worst weeks in months.

Wall Street’s leading indices recorded their first weekly decline in 10 weeks as the S&P 500 fell 1.54% while the NASDAQ dropped 3.26% for the week.

Economic Data

• The U.S. economy added 216,000 jobs in December, well above the 173,000 in November and above market forecasts of 170,000.

• Canada’s Unemployment Rate remained at a 22-month high of 5.8% during December, slightly below expectations of a 5.9% reading.

• U.S. Factory Orders rose 2.6% during November from the previous month, following a 3.4% drop in October - which bettered forecasts of a 2.1% increase.

• Inflation in the Euro Area rose 2.9% year-on-year during December, climbing from an almost two-year low of 2.4% in November.

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Quick Singles

🪃 Local News

• Treasurer Jim Chalmers has threatened to take action against supermarkets that don't pass on lower wholesale costs to customers. This is part of the government's efforts to address voter concern over the rising cost of living.

🌎️ Around The Globe

• Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly launched a direct-to-consumer website yesterday, allowing its customers to receive third-party prescriptions for its drugs, including its newly approved weight loss injectable Zepbound.

• OpenAI is set to launch its ChatGPT store, where creators of third-party customised GPTs can sell and monetise their creations. The store is set to launch on January 8.

• Peloton has partnered with TikTok to create short workout classes and content. TikTok will introduce a new #TikTokFitness hub that includes a dedicated Peloton section with custom content made for the platform.

• Ford reported that its U.S. total sales jumped 7.1% to 1,995,912 vehicles, making 2023 its best year since 2020.

• Microsoft partners will start shipping a new Copilot key on various new PCs and laptops. The button will provide quick access to Microsoft's AI-powered Windows Copilot experience.

• China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group said that executive director Liu Yongzhuo has been detained on suspicion of “illegal crimes.”

• Alaska Airlines cancelled 170 flights on Sunday, and a further 60 on Monday after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ordered the grounding of 171 Boeing 737 MAX planes to run inspections. The order came after an eight-week-old Alaska Airlines jet was forced to make an emergency landing with a gap in the fuselage.

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A Little Extra

📉 Going Down?

Top-10 shorted stocks on the ASX - as of January 2

👨‍💼 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.