Good Evening,

Welcome to Equity Espresso’s Daily Recap.

Market sentiment was cautious today following Iran's drone attack on Israel over the weekend, which added to concerns that the conflict in the Middle East could escalate and lead to a broader conflict, raising the possibility of higher inflation and delayed rate cuts. The ASX 200 index finished 35.6 pts. or 0.46% lower to 7,752.50, making it the third session in the red, with eight sectors finishing in the red today.

The Technology (-1.75%) sector was today's worst performer, with a risk-off sentiment affecting this “riskier” sector the most. Wisetech Global (-1.15%) and Xero (-1.74%) both fell, while NextDC (-4.97%) saw a steeper drop, finishing the day at $15.88 after it completed a capital raising of $937 million at $15.40 per share.

Telco. (-1.05%) and Health Care (-1.01%) were the next worst-performing sectors, while on the positive side of the ledger, Energy (+0.38%) and Materials (+0.35%) were the best performers. Brent Crude prices rise above US$91.05/bbl during Monday’s session before falling back to US$90.00. The materials sector rose thanks to a rise in base metal prices on Friday, with Aluminia (+6.0%), South32 (+4.6%) and Nickel Industries (+4.1%) as some of the beneficiaries.

Gold prices rebounded on Monday, rising by around 0.6% to US$2,355/oz, almost record levels, as Iran’s attack on Israel boosted demand for the safe-haven asset. However, strength in the U.S. dollar limited any major gains.

In company news, Droneshield (+11.1%) shares spiked after reporting a 10-fold increase in quarterly revenue to $16.5 million during the March quarter. Cash receipts were $7.1 million for the quarter - up from $7.0 million YoY, with the delay due to US Government orders where deliveries took place in 1Q24 and payments due in 2Q24. Ioneer (+17.9%) shares surged as it moved closer to the construction of its Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron site following the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) planned issuance of the project's draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Wall Street

There was a large sell-off in U.S. stocks on Friday after earnings from the major banks failed to impress markets in a week capped by the higher-than-expected inflation data read. The NASDAQ (-1.62%) fell the most, followed by the S&P 500 (-1.46%), which recorded its largest one-week loss since January. The Dow Jones (-1.24%) also finished lower.

Friday kicked off the start of quarterly earnings, with the major U.S. banks all reporting. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (-6.5%), the biggest U.S. bank by assets, posted a 6% profit increase, but its net interest income forecast fell short of expectations. Wells Fargo & Co. (-0.39%) stock inched lower after profits fell 7% as net interest income dropped on weak borrowing demand. Citigroup (-1.70%) posted a loss after spending on employee severance and deposit insurance.

S&P500 Sector Performance

Economic Data

• U.S. Consumer Sentiment fell to 77.9 in April from 79.4 in March, the highest level since July 2021. The result came in below forecasts of 79.

• Saudi Arabia’s annual inflation rate fell to 1.6% during March after hitting a six-month high of 1.8% in February.

• Finland’s annual inflation dropped to 2.2% in March, down from 3.0% in February, the lowest reading since August 2021.

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Quick Singles

🌎️ Around The Globe

• StubHub is reportedly planning to list on the stock exchange in the summer, according to a report by The Information. The online ticketing marketplace was last valued at $16.5 billion in 2021.

• Apple is preparing to replace its entire Mac line with new-generation M4 processor chips, despite releasing the M3 chips only five months ago.

• Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan has been sentenced to death in relation to her role in a US$12.2 billion financial fraud. Lan was the chairwoman of real estate developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, which was found guilty of embezzlement, bribery and violations of banking rules.

• Peru’s government approved a bill last week that will allow workers to withdraw money from their retirement accounts. Authorities estimate that this could lead to US$7 billion in withdrawals. This bill represents the seventh withdrawal approved since 2020, which has already led to workers pulling $24 billion from individual retirement accounts.

• Tesla is rumoured to be preparing a massive round of layoffs, according to a report by Electrek, who said that there is talk about layoffs as high as 20% of the workforce.

Markets

ASX Company Movers

Commodity Prices

Bonds

Forex

ETF Watch

Global Health Check

Newsletter Recommendation

A Little Extra

📉 Going Down?

Top-10 shorted stocks on the ASX - as of April 9

📂 Broker Ratings

1. Avita Medical (AVH) - Downgrade to Speculative Hold from Speculative Buy (Bell Potter)

2. Endeavour Group (EDV) - Upgrade to Overweight from Equal-weight Morgan Stanley
   

👨‍💼 Director Transactions

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

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