Good Evening,

Welcome to Equity Espresso’s Daily Recap. 

Markets finished the week positively, making it three days of green. The ASX 200 index edged out a 0.07% or 5.6 pts. gain to 7,644.80 following another strong night on Wall Street, which saw the leading S&P 500 index briefly breach the 5,000 mark.

It was a mixed day on the sector front, with Technology (+1.13%) and Healthcare (+1.00%) the best performers of the six sectors to finish in the green. Wisetech (+1.4%) and Xero (+1.8%) led the pack, while Cochlear (+5.9%) had another strong day after upgrading its FY24 guidance on Thursday, trading at all-time highs.

The Energy (-1.3%) sector fell despite Oil futures remaining elevated on Friday, Woodside Energy (-1.4%) and Santos (-0.3%) both fell. Uranium stocks gave back some ground after its recent surge, Paladin Energy (-7.0%), Boss Energy (-12.7%) and Deep Yellow (-9.9%) all recording sharp falls. The fall came after Canadian miner Cameco said it plans to expand production to meet rising demand.

Boral was one of the best-performing companies of the large-cap stocks today, rising 8.3% after lifting its EBIT guidance for FY24 to between $330 million and $350 million from between $300 million and $330 million.

Novonix shares rose 11.3% after announcing it had signed a binding off-take agreement with Panasonic Energy, which has agreed to purchase at least 10,000 tonnes of anode material for use in their U.S. plants over the term of 2025-2028. Dicker Data declared a final dividend of $0.15 p/s to take its full-year dividend for 2023 to $0.45 per share, up 8.4% from 2022. Syrah Resources (-3.7%) fell after it said it had commenced Active Anode Material production at its Vidalia facility in Louisiana, USA.

Wall Street

The S&P 500 closed ever so close to the elusive 5,000 mark on Thursday as quarterly earnings reports continued to roll in, as an xxx job report came in line with expectations. The S&P 500 finished 0.06% higher, while the NASDAQ rose 0.24%. Over half of the S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly earnings, with 80.6% surpassing expectations, compared with a long-term average of 67%.

Walt Disney shares rose 11.5% after beating Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, announcing a $3 billion share repurchase plan and a 50% dividend increase. Paypal shares slid 11% after it issued weaker-than-expected guidance after the market close on Wednesday despite an otherwise strong quarterly financial update.

Arm Holdings were the big mover on Thursday, soaring 48% after the chipmaker posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results and forward guidance. The company forecasted EPS for Q1 to be between 28 and 32 cents and revenue of $850 million to $900 million. Wall Street estimates were 21 cents per share on $780 million in revenue.

Intercontinental Exchange shares popped 5% after the financial exchange company posted adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of $1.33 per share, exceeding analysts’ estimates of $1.29.

Economic Data

• Chinese Banks extended CNY4.92 trillion in new loans during January, a record high since comparable records began in 2004 and slightly above the previous record of CNY4.9 trillion set a year earlier.

• U.S. Jobless Claims fell by 9,000 to 218,000 from the prior week, slightly below estimates of 220,000.

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Quick Singles

🌎️ Around The Globe

• For the first time in more than two decades, Mexico surpassed China as the United States' leading source of imported goods.

• Coca-Cola has announced a new Spiced flavour that combines traditional Coke with raspberry and spiced flavours. When it arrives in stores in the U.S. and Canada in the coming weeks, this new flavour will be available in both full-sugar and zero-sugar versions.

• Warner Music is laying off 600 employees, or about 10% of its workforce, as part of a broader restructuring plan to save costs, invest in more music, and “accelerate the company’s growth for the next decade.”

• Pakistan temporarily suspended mobile phone services and closed some land borders on Thursday to maintain law and order as voting began in a national election.

• Attacks on container vessels in the Red Sea have been causing significant damage to one of the world's most crucial trade routes for several weeks. Shipping giant Maersk has warned that the disruption could continue for up to a year, leading to delays and additional costs for shipping companies.

• Philip Morris said they have shipped approximately 350 million cans of Zyn in 2023, a 62% increase from the previous year. Zyn is a tobacco-free nicotine pouch product.

Markets

ASX Company Movers

Commodity Prices

Bond Prices

A Little Extra

📉 Going Down?

Top-10 shorted stocks on the ASX - as of February 3

👨‍💼 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.