Good Evening,

Welcome to Equity Espresso’s Daily Recap. 

Markets gave back some minor ground on the last trading day of the year, with the ASX 200 index closing 32.1 pts. or 0.42% lower to 7,582.20.

So, how did the market fare for 2023? It looked dire at the end of October, with the index down 3.6% during the year's first ten months. It pays to stay in the market through November (+4.52%), and December (+6.98%) saw two of the three best-performing months of the year, finishing 2023 up 7.72%.

Gold miners took a dip today despite the gold price trading higher on Thursday at US$2,070.00/oz. Northern Star Resources (-1.37%), Evolution Mining (-1.00%), and Perseus Mining (-3.66%) all ended the day lower.

WTI crude futures were stable at $72/bbl on Friday but are on track for their first annual decline since 2020 due to concerns about increasing global oil supplies and slowing demand growth.

In company news, Eagers Automotive fell 1.2% after it reported a cyber incident, causing an outage that disrupted parts of the company’s operations across Australia and New Zealand.

Wall Street

The S&P 500 reversed early losses in Thursday trading, closing 0.4% higher to 4,783.40 as the primary index sits only 0.3% below its all-time high in January 2022. Of the 11 major sectors on the index, Utilities had the largest gain, while Energy stocks finished lower, weighed down by falling oil prices.

CytoSorbents dropped 33.4% after the company's device aimed at reducing bleeding during surgery failed to meet the primary goal of a recent study. Boeing shares slipped 0.7% after the planemaker urged airlines to inspect the newer 737 MAX aeroplanes for a possible loose bolt in the rudder control system.

Economic Data

• U.S. Unemployment Benefits rose by 12,000 to 218,000 during the week ending December 23, above expectations of 210,000.

• The average rate on a U.S. 30-year fixed mortgage fell 6.61% as of December 28 - the lowest point since May, marking the ninth consecutive week of falls.

• U.S. Pending Home Sales remained unchanged in November following a 1.2$ drop in October, below expectations of a 1.0% rise.

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Quick Singles

🪃 Local News

• Cathay Pacific Airways has cancelled 14 passenger flights from Hong Kong as a precaution after illness left the airliner short of pilots. The cancellation has affected flights into Sydney, Delhi, Taipei, Shanghai and Singapore.

🌎️ Around The Globe

• Google has agreed to settle a lawsuit claiming that it secretly tracked millions of users who thought they were browsing the internet privately using incognito mode. The case has sought at least $5 billion; however, details of the settlement were not disclosed.

• Pizza Hut franchises in California plan to lay off 1,200 in-house delivery drivers in February ahead of a new state law raising the fast-food minimum wage to $20 per hour.

• Amazon will display ads on its U.K. Prime Video streaming service starting February 5, 2024. Customers in the U.K. and Germany will experience "limited" ads unless they pay an extra £2.99 per month to eliminate them.

• The latest Apple Watches can be sold by third-party sellers as an appeals court granted a temporary pause on an import ban on Wednesday. Apple announced that the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models will be available at their stores on Wednesday, and online sales will begin on Thursday.

• Toyota Motors reported an 11% increase in its global production in November, reaching a record level after last year's supply chain disruptions. The company benefited from solid demand in Japan and overseas, resulting in a production output of 926,573 vehicles.

• Huawei Technologies revenue grew by 9% during 2023 to more than 700 billion yuan (US$98.7 billion), their fastest pace of growth in years, thanks to a resurgent smartphone business and robust 5G equipment sales.

Markets

ASX Company Movers

Commodity Prices

Bond Prices

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A Little Extra

📉 Going Down?

Top-10 shorted stocks on the ASX - as of December 21

👨‍💼 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.