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Welcome to Equity Espresso’s Daily Recap.

Aussie shares finished the day lower again on Friday, making it the seventh fall in eight trading sessions. Around midday, news broke that Israel had launched a missile strike on Iran, causing an initial drawdown in equities before an afternoon rally clawed back some ground. The ASX 200 index lost 74.8 pts. or 0.98% to finish at 7,567.30, its lowest level in almost three months.

All 11 major sectors finished the day in the red, with interest rate-sensitive Technology (-1.55%) and Real Estate (-1.44%) stocks as the worst performers. Energy (-0.09%) was the best performer as oil prices rose after the Israel attack on Iran, which produces around 3% of global oil supplies.

Gold miners were some of the few winners, as the precious metal rose on Friday to trade at all-time highs of around US$2,380. Evolution Mining (+1.75%), Persues Mining (+1.32%) and De Grey Mining (+1.12%) were some of the big movers in the sector.

In company news, Karoon Energy (-5.41%) fell after downgrading its oil production from 11.2 – 13.5 MMboe to 10.5 – 12.5 MMboe for 2024. Fiducian Group (+3.82%) shares rose after reporting net inflows ending March 31 of $53 million, with the same period last year yielding inflows of $52 million. COG Financial Services (-9.36%) fell after reporting NPATA of $5.4 million during the Q3 of FY24, down from $5.8 million in the pcp.

Wall Street

It was a mixed session on Wall Street, with the NASDAQ (-0.52%) and S&P 500 (-0.22%) falling while the Dow Jones (+0.06%) edged out a marginal gain. Economic data showed that the labour market remains resilient, with unemployment claims unchanged from the prior week at 212,000.

The S&P 500 experienced its fifth consecutive day of declines, the longest streak since last October. Equities have been struggling lately after a five-month rally that began in November. This rally was partly due to expectations that the Fed would cut interest rates during the first half of this year.

Netflix (-6.21%) stock dipped despite reporting a beat on revenue and earnings for the quarter after its subscriber figures grew by 16% from the pcp. Intuitive Surgical (+3.48%) stock rose after reporting stronger-than-expected adjusted EPS of $1.50 - higher than an estimated $1.41.

S&P500 Sector Performance

Economic Data

• U.K Retail Sales were flat in March, following a 0.1% rise in February, which also missed estimates of a 0.3% growth.

• Japan’s Annual Inflation Rate fell to a 2.7% rise in March after February's 3-month peak of 2.8%, which was in line with market consensus.

• U.S Unemployment Benefits were unchanged from the prior week at 212,000 for the period ending April 18, below market expectations of 215,000

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🌎️ Around The Globe

• Tesla has asked shareholders to reapprove Elon Musk's $56 billion pay package, which a judge invalidated less than three months ago. Shareholders are also being asked to approve moving Tesla's incorporation from Delaware to Texas.

• Boeing is facing two Senate hearings regarding aircraft safety and quality. A whistleblower has alleged that Boeing cut corners on 787 and 777 models, and a panel of experts has discussed previous findings on flaws in Boeing's safety culture.

• Eli Lilly has announced that its popular weight loss medication, Zepbound, has shown potential in treating patients with the most common sleep-related breathing disorder in two late-stage clinical trials. These initial results add to the growing list of potential health benefits of weight loss and diabetes treatments.

• Boston Dynamics has introduced a new, slim, and electric version of its humanoid robot, Atlas. This bot is designed to operate in real-world situations and has improved dexterity and flexibility. The video demonstrates Atlas' increased capabilities, including lifting itself from a prone position.

• Telegram expects to cross one billion active users within a year, according to its founder Pavel Durov, who said the messaging app. is spreading like a "forest fire."

• Nine Air Canada employees are among the suspects in stealing C$20 million worth of gold from a cargo facility at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

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