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Welcome to Equity Espresso’s Daily Recap.

Australian shares fell sharply on Tuesday following a decline on Wall Street, as positive U.S. retail sales figures dampened hopes of interest rate cuts by the U.S Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank. The ASX 200 index finished the session 140.0 pts. or 1.81% lower to 7,612.50.

From a sector standpoint, there was nowhere to hide, with Discretionary (-2.39%), Utilities (-2.15%), and Materials (-2.03%) seeing the largest falls of the 11 sectors that all finished lower.

In company news, Star Entertainment Group (-14.43%) was the biggest laggard on the ASX All Ordinaries as the casino operator continues to deal with inquiries into its ability to hold its gaming licence. Suncorp Group (-1.31%) shares fell after filing a prudential breach with banking regulators. Zip Co. (-10.9%) shares fell after reporting Q3 earnings, highlighting Underlying Group EBTDA of $20.1 million for the quarter thanks to growth from its U.S. business.

Wall Street

U.S. stocks fell sharply on Monday after a better-than-expected retail sales report quelled hopes of rate cuts and rising geopolitical tensions between Iran and Israel. The technology-heavy NASDAQ (-1.79%) index had the largest fall of the leading indices, followed by the S&P 500 (-1.2%) and Dow Jones (-0.65%).

The S&P 500 is now down 2.64% over the past two sessions, it's biggest two-day drop since early last month. The major index also closed below its 50-day moving average for the first time since November 2.

Each of the 11 major S&P sectors closed lower, with the rate-sensitive Real Estate (-1.77%) and Technology (-1.99%) sectors among the worst performers.

Tesla (-5.6%) stock fell after the EV maker announced plans to lay off over 10% of its global workforce. As of December 2023, Tesla had almost 141,000 employees. Goldman Sachs (+2.9%) shares rose after reporting first-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street estimates, with a 28% jump in profit to $4.13 billion from the prior year. The investment bank reported earnings of $11.58 per share on revenue of $14.21 billion. Salesforce (-7.3%) stock sunk on unconfirmed reports that the software company is in talks to acquire data-management software provider Informatica.

S&P500 Sector Performance

Economic Data

• China’s GDP grew by 5.3% YoY in Q1 of 2024, beating market forecasts of a 5.0% rise after GDP rose by 5.2% in Q4, 2023.

• UK Unemployment rose to 4.2% during February-24, up from 4.0% in January and exceeding estimates of 4.0%.

• U.S. Retail Sales rose 0.7% month-on-month in March 2024, following a 0.95 gain in February, which smashed forecasts of a 0.3% increase, suggesting consumer spending remains strong.

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Quick Singles

🌎️ Around The Globe

• Tesla announced global job cuts of over 10%, and reports say the cuts affect China, the company's second-largest market behind the U.S.

• Nike says it plans to spend more on this year’s Paris Olympics than any previous Games, hoping to revive slumping sales.

• Blackrock's first-quarter 2024 assets under management reached a record $10.5 trillion, as profits jumped by 36%. Rising global equity markets boosted its investment advisory and administration fees.

• U.S. credit-card delinquency rates were the highest on record in the fourth quarter, with almost 3.5% of card balances at least 30 days past due.

• The U.S. government has announced a $6.4 billion subsidy for Samsung to construct advanced computer chip manufacturing facilities in Austin.

• Samsung surpasses Apple as the world's largest smartphone maker, with worldwide shipments reaching 289.4 million units - a 7.8% YoY growth.

Markets

ASX Company Movers

Commodity Prices

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A Little Extra

📉 Going Down?

Top-10 shorted stocks on the ASX - as of April 10

📂 Broker Ratings

1. Cettire (CTT) - Upgrade to Buy from Hold (Bell Potter)

2. DroneShield (DRO) - Downgrade to Hold from Buy (Bell Potter)
   

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

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