Optus Cyber Hacks costs $1 billion

It was an uneventful day on the markets with not a lot of movement throughout the trading day, with the ASX200 finished the day up by 7.10 pts to 7,393.40. Along with the ASX 200 Index, six of the eleven sectors ended the day in the green.

Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday after the Bank of Japan maintained its loose policy settings, despite market speculation it would further tweak its yield curve control policy

Another mixed day for ASX sectors, with the Technology index rising by 1.74% to lead the six sectors that were in the green today. The Real Estate industry had the poorest performance, decreasing in value by 0.94 per cent.

Sayona Mining and Telix Pharmaceuticals, saw their share prices increase by 8.89% and 8.60% respectively today, making them the best performing stocks on this index.

Quick Singles

• Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU) share price dropped by 0.4% to $2.33 on the back of the release of exploration reports from Yaoure Gold Mine in Cote d'Ivoire

• Nitro Software Ltd (ASX: NTO) has requested for statements from the parties involved in the recent media release that contained some confidential information about a take over plan

• Nickel Industries (ASX:NIC) share price has been halted at $1.12, its previous close. The company has begun a $673 million capital raise to help fund two significant acquisitions.

• Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) has released its December 2022 Quarterly Activities Report, which reveals income of US$32 million produced from sales of 53,715 dmt of low grade spodumene concentrate.

US Banking Earnings

US Banks reported Q4 earnings overnight:

• JPMorgan beat Q4 earnings expectations and set aside $2.3 billion for credit losses, predicting a "mild recession" in the fourth quarter.

• Bank of America surpassed Q4 EPS and revenue projections and it set aside $1.1B for credit losses due to a "increasingly slowing" economy

• Citigroup met Q4 EPS estimates and beat revenue but a costly restructuring program caused a 21% YoY profit decline; CEO expects a "mild-recession" in H2 2023.

• Wells Fargo missed Q4 profit estimates by more than 50% YoY

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Top Story

Optus Cyber Hack Affects Branding

Following the cyberattack that occurred last year, its estimated that the value of the Optus brand decreased by $1.2 billion in an analysis by Brand Finance Australia . As a result, it fell further down the ranks of Australia's most valuable brands, which were led by Woolworths, Telstra, and the Commonwealth Bank.

If Medibank's brand had been affected by its massive data hack, which wiped $1.8 billion off its market value in a single day, it is likely that it would have taken a significant hit. However, Brand Finance's list was compiled before the hack.

Brand Capitalisation according to the results of an annual study conducted in Australia to determine which of the nation's brands are the most valuable, the Woolworths brand is currently valued at $16.2 billion, representing an increase of 18 percent from the previous year. In the meantime, the "strongest" brand in Australia was determined to be Bunnings.

Movers and Shakers

✅Biggest Winners

Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX) rose 8.3% to $7.05 a share following the announcement of the radiopharmaceuticals companies quarterly report. In the update Telix reported a quarterly revenue rise of 41% to $78.2 million, resulting in a positive free cash flow from operating activities.

Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) share price was up 4.6% to $107.44. This followed a solid overnight session for the payments company's NYSE-listed shares likely due to a rise in the Bitcoin price over the weekend. Microstrategy, Coinbase and Tesla also rose significantly overnight and have historically had a strong correlation to the Bitcoin price.

❌ Biggest Losers 

HUB24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) share price fell by 4.8% to $25.42 after a quarterly update from the investing platform provider was "weaker than expected," as described by analysts at Citi who maintained their neutral rating but decreased their price target to $29.00. The funds under management at HUB24 were 2% less than Citi's projections.

Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) share price fell 0.3% to $12.25 after a mixed day of trade. In a Q2 update today, Allkem reported gross operating cash margin for the quarter of US$218 million and its group revenue for the quarter was $265 million. Despite weaker sales units and revenue of US$83 million from the Mt Cattlin operation, the Olaroz operation generated record sales revenue of US$151 million.

Small-Cap of the Day

Lithium Strike in WA

Riedel Resources (ASX:RIE) has made an announcement, which has caused its trading price to skyrocket. It was up about +100% early doors, before settling down to a still-outstanding +43.8% by the time the market closed.

Driving this increase was Riedel reporting that had received the first assays from its diamond drill program at the Kingman Gold Project in the United States. golfMultiple high-grade gold results seen in shallow holes have confirmed earlier RC drilling results, indicating that Reidel is sitting on a chunky gold deposit that is within arm's reach of the surface.

Econcomic Calender

Outlook

A busy week both here in Australia and in the US with unemployment data dropping in the back end of the week the biggest news.

19th January

• US Producer Prices YoY - est. 5.6%

• US Retail Sales MoM - est. -0.8%

• AU Employment Rate - est. 22.5k

• AU Unemployment - est. 3.4%

20th January

• US Initial Jobless Claim - est. 212k

• US Building Permits - est. 1.37M

• US Housing Starts Number - est. 1.36M

That's it from the team at ASX-News today. We hope you enjoyed our EOD wrap-up. Good night and happy investing!