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Welcome to Equity Espresso’s Daily Recap. 

The Aussie market continued its upward momentum on Thursday, as the ASX 200 index rose 23.1 pts. or 0.34% to 7,639.20, buoyed by strong profit reports from Cochlear (+4.4%) and AGL Energy (+10.2%), which were some of the leaders of the index. Six of the 11 sectors finished the day higher, with Technology (+1.18%) and Utilities (+0.97%) leading the way, with Wisetech (+3.1%) the big mover in the tech sector. Meridan Energy (+5.7%) was the other company to see big gains along with AGL Energy in the Utilities sector.

The Energy sector (-0.5%) fell the most today, with Woodside Energy (-0.40%), Santos (-0.95%) and Ampol (-0.33%) all seeing red, while the Staples (-0.45%) sector was the other to also drop.

Cochlear shares jumped 4.4% to $304.74 after it lifted its earnings guidance for FY24 to between $385 million and $400 million, an increase of between 26% and 31%. Revenue from the company's implant sales was also better than expected, which drove the share price rise today. AGL Energy was the other big winner today, jumped 10.3% to $8.80 after reporting a statutory profit of $576 million for the six months to December 31 - a big swing from the $1.1 billion loss in the same period last year. AGL also upgraded its guidance for full-year underlying net profit to between $680 million and $780 million, compared with previous guidance of between $580 million and $780 million.

REA Group (-4.2%) shares fell despite reporting a 22% jump in net profit to $250 million as the company warned of higher operating expenses during the upcoming financial year. The company also reported a 16% increase in its dividend.

Transurban’s net profits more than quadrupled to $230 million in the six months to December 31 from $55 million last year as traffic in the U.S. and Australia rose. The company said it will pay a first-half dividend of $0.30 per share and a full-year dividend of $0.62 per share. Transburan shares closed the day down 0.98%

In other news:

• Telix Pharmaceuticals will pay $50.8 million upfront to acquire U.S.-based company QSAM Biosciences and its investigational drug Samarium-153-DOTMP. Telix shares ended the day 1.2% higher.

• Mirvac Group shares rose 4.6% despite reporting a statutory loss of $201 million for the half-year period, a massive reversal from the $215 million profit in the pcp.

• Charter Hall Long WALE REIT reported a statutory loss of $258.4 million for the half year to December 31, down from a $141 million profit in the PCP after a large writedown in its portfolio values. Shares ended the day 3.2% higher.

Wall Street

The good times continue to roll on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 (+0.81%) notching up another record high on Wednesday, as company quarterly earnings reports, by and large, continue to beat expectations. The NASDAQ rose 0.95%, while the Dow Jones was up 0.40%.

Snap (-34.6%) shares fell sharply today after the company posted disappointing fourth-quarter results and provided weak forward guidance. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba fell 5.9% after the company’s fiscal third-quarter revenue missed analysts’ estimates, although it lifted its share buyback program to $25 million. Chipotle (+7.2%) shares jumped after it posted quarterly earnings and revenue that surpassed expectations while also saying that foot traffic rose 7.4% during the quarter.

In after-hours trading, Disney's (+6.7%) shares jumped after the company said it expected adjusted earnings to rise by 20% to $4.60 per share during FY24. The company also announced a new stock repurchase program and reinstated its dividend. On the other hand, Paypal (-3%) fell despite reporting fourth-quarter results that beat expectations after it forecasted FY24 earnings per share of $5.10 - well below analyst’s estimates of $5.48. PayPal stock fell more than 8% despite a fourth-quarter results beat on Wall Street estimates. The company’s full-year earnings per share forecast of $5.10 was well down against analyst estimates of $5.48.

Economic Data

• China's Consumer Prices fell by 0.8% YoY in January 2024, marking the fourth straight month of declines, the longest streak of falls since October 2009.

• The RICS U.K. Residential Market Survey house price balance rose to -18 in January 2024 from -29 in December, the strongest reading since July 2022

• The Reserve Bank of India held its benchmark policy at 6.5% for the sixth consecutive meeting in February 2024, inline with expectations.

• Japan’s Current Account Surplus climbed to JPY744.5 billion in December 2023 from JPY0.095 billion in the same month a year earlier.

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Quick Singles

🌎️ Around The Globe

• Adam Neumann, the founder and former CEO of WeWork, is reportedly trying to buy back the bankrupt coworking company. He plans to do so through his new real-estate startup called Flow Global.

• Honda has issued a recall for over 750,000 vehicles produced between 2020 and 2022. The recall is due to a defect in the weight sensor that disables the passenger airbags when a child or child seat occupies the seat. The weight sensor may not work correctly and may allow the airbags to deploy during a crash.

• DocuSign has announced that it will reduce its workforce by 6%, affecting around 400 employees. The e-signature software firm has confirmed that most of the restructuring plan will impact its sales and marketing teams. As a result, DocuSign is expected to pay between $28 and $32 million in severance payouts.

• Meta will begin to label images that have been created with artificial intelligence tools, such as Midjourney, as “

• South Korean construction company Booyoung Group announced it will offer a $75,000 benefit to its employees who have a baby to address the country's low birth rate. The company has also retroactively provided $5.25 million to employees who have had babies since 2021.

• German manufacturing orders unexpectedly rose by 8.9% in December, driven by aircraft purchases, contrary to expectations of a 0.5% drop.

Markets

ASX Company Movers

Commodity Prices

Bond Prices

A Little Extra

📉 Going Down?

Top-10 shorted stocks on the ASX - as of February 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.