Retail Sales Slide But Markets Hit Record High

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Welcome to Equity Espresso’s Daily Recap. Markets will be closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday, so our next market recap will be out next Tuesday. Have a great Easter!

The Australian share market hit a record close on Thursday with a sea of green on the boards. The ASX 200 index finished 0.99% or 77.3 pts. higher to close at 7,896.90, passing its previous record of 7,847 set on March 8.

Materials (+1.80%) was the best-performing sector on the day, with a rebound in resource prices sending commodities stocks higher. Gold prices held just below US$2,200/oz on Thursday, hovering near all-time highs. Northern Star Resources (+1.69%), Evolution Mining (+1.71%) and Sandfire Resources (+3.25%) all finished higher. Mining giants BHP Group (+1.35%), Fortescue (+2.03%) and Rio Tinto (+0.69%) all saw gains on the day.

The Real Estate (+1.80%) sector rose again on Thursday, making it the best-performing sector for the month, up 11.67%. Goodman Group (+1.93%) shares continue to climb, followed by Scentre Group (+0.89%) and Stockland (+1.89%). Goodman Group shares are now up by over 80% in the last 12 months, making it the second-best performer of the companies in the ASX 100 behind only James Hardie Industries (+88.76%).

Telco. (+1.45%), Utilities (+1.29%) and Industrials (+1.09%) were some of the other significant movers as all sectors closed in the green, with Financials (+0.38%) and Technology (+0.40%) gaining the least.

Australian retail sales increased by 0.3% month-over-month in February 2024, slowing from a 1.1% growth in January and less than market forecasts of 0.4%. Sales slowed in the below categories:

• Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway (+0.5% vs +1.4% Jan.)

• Food (-0.1% vs 0%)

• Household goods retailing (-0.8% vs +2.1%)

• Other retailing (-0.4% vs +1.8%)

Sales accelerated in:

• Department stores (+2.3% vs +1.8%)

• Clothing, Footwear and personal accessory retailing (+4.2% vs +2.5%)

Now to company news, Beach Energy (+3.67%) shares rose after it said it would axe 30% of staff as part of a restructuring. Ramelius Resources (+3.05%) confirmed today that discussions regarding a potential takeover of Karora Resources had concluded, with no deal eventuating. Fisher & Paykel (-2.75%) shares fell after it announced it was voluntarily recalling a limited number of batches of its Airvo 2 and myAirvo 2 devices manufactured before August 14, 2017

In late-breaking news: China has lifted the tariffs on Australia’s wine exports, which were imposed three years ago at rates of up to 218%. The Ministry of Commerce in Beijing announced the decision on Thursday, following an interim recommendation to lift the import taxes in a move that the industry had anticipated.

Wall Street

The U.S. market finished higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones (+1.22%) leading the gains, followed by the S&P 500 (+0.86%), which set a new record high with the NASDAQ (+0.51%) trailing. One of the top performers on the Dow Jones was Merck & Co.(+4.96%), which rose after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its therapy for adults suffering from a rare lung condition.

Each of the 11 major S&P sectors closed higher, with rate-sensitive Utilities (+2.75%) and Real Estate (+2.42%) the best performers, getting a lift as bond yields eased.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE), the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, is due on Good Friday, when the U.S. stock market will be closed.

S&P500 Sector Performance

Economic Data

• Australian Retail Sales rose by 0.3% month-on-month in February, marginally below market forecasts of a 0.4% increase following a 1.1% jump in January.

• New Zealand Business Confidence dropped to 22.9 in March, from 34.7 a month earlier - the country’s lowest reading since September 2023.

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Quick Singles

🌎️ Around The Globe

• Canada Gooda is laying off around 17% of its corporate staff as part of what the outwear manufacturer calls a “transformation program,” which will result in immediate cost savings.

• Canva has acquired the Affinity creative software suite, giving the company ownership over Affinity Designer, Photo, and Publisher — three popular creative applications for Windows, Mac, and iPad.

• Facebook secretly analysed user data from Snapchat, Amazon, and YouTube as part of an initiative called "Project Ghostbusters" from 2016 to 2019. The information was revealed through documents from a California court.

• Krispy Kreme doughnuts will be available across McDonald's restaurants by the end of 2026 as the companies expand a pilot project starting in the second half of 2024.

• Reddit CEO and President Steve Huffman sold 500,000 shares, around 40% of his ownership—merely days after the company listed on the NASDAQ, cashing in just over $16 million.

• Visa & MasterCard have agreed to cut and cap credit card processing fees charged to merchants as part of a settlement in a long-running lawsuit that could save U.S. businesses $30 billion over the next five years.

Markets

ASX Company Movers

Commodity Prices

Bonds

Forex

Global Health Check

A Little Extra

📉 Going Down?

Top-10 shorted stocks on the ASX - as of March 22

📂 Broker Ratings

1. Infomedia (IFM) - Downgrade to Hold from Buy (Bell Potter)

2. Platinum Asset Management (PTM) - Upgrade to Buy from Hold (Bell Potter)

👨‍💼 Director Transactions

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

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