ASX 200 Live Today - Thursday, 20th November
A big day for markets as Nvidia earnings could see things swing either way. Here are today's top stories.
Today’s ASX 200 Updates
Welcome to our live ASX coverage for Thursday, November 20. We’re excited to trial this new format. Expect a high volume of posts pre-market and more periodic updates throughout the day. Today's live blog will wrap up at 2:00 pm AEDT. Be sure to refresh manually for the latest updates — and let us know how we can make it even better.
ASX still climbing
[2:10 pm] The ASX 200 is still showing momentum and is now up 1.39% on the day. The All Ords is also up 1.44%, with Information Technology, Materials and Real Estate posting solid numbers.
We're going to leave the blog here for today. Join us tomorrow morning to see if the markets can maintain this promising turnaround or whether this Nvidia-inspired rally turns out to be short-lived.
Charter Hall jumps on updated FY26 guidance
[1:57 pm] Real Estate fund manager Charter Hall has bounced 5.7% after it updated its FY26 OPES guidance to $0.95, up from prior guidance of $0.90.
It has also updated figures on adjusted EBITDA to $604.1m (7.1% consensus beat), but statutory NPAT is at $327.7m (5% miss).
ASX 200 holding steady
[1:17 pm] The Australian stock market is holding onto its gains today, with the ASX 200 still up 1.05% and the All Ords up 1.14%. The major index is also showing good breadth, with 163 companies up on the day, still led by the big charge in tech.
Block Inc bounces after update to FY guidance
[1:04 pm] Not far behind Mayne on today's ASX leaderboard is Block, Inc. The dual-listed financial services and payments company had been trading down over the last month but has rebounded today after it reported higher adj. operating income of US$2.7bn (8.9% consensus beat) and gross profit of US$11.98bn (1.7% beat).
Adjusted EPS is also expected to grow around 30% YoY through to 2028.
Mayne Pharma surges on Takeover Panel ruling
[12:53 pm] ASX-listed Maybe Pharma is up 18% today after the Takeovers Panel ordered prospective US buyer Cosette to comply with any conditions required as part of FIRB approval over whether Cosette would shut Mayne's Adelaide manufacturing plant.
Bitcoin back above US$90K
[11:56 am] After dropping below the level for the first time since April, Bitcoin has reclaimed the US$90,000 mark and is currently trading at US$91,800. It's been a worrying month for BTC and the wider crypto markets, and leaves October's all-time high of US$127,000 feeling like a distant memory.
Meanwhile, gold is trading slightly higher (0.61%), but remains 6% lower for the month.
US rate cut odds plunge
[11:18 am] Something that could pour cold water on any new rally for US and global stocks is the dwindling chance of a US interest rate cut in December.
Chances of a cut have tumbled from almost 90% in late October to around 33% today, after the meeting notes from the FOMC's October meeting showed members were divided over whether a December rate cut was justified.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has also said it won't release the October jobs report until after the December FOMC meeting, meaning the Fed may choose a "wait and see" approach to rates.
Is it 'as you were' for the AI-led bull market?
[11:09 am] Like the ASX, the Japanese and Korean stock markets have just opened higher today off the back of the Nvidia Q3 results. Japan's Nikkei 225 is up 2.85%, whilst Korea's KOSPI index is up 2.35%.
But not everyone is convinced that the Nvidia results are enough to keep the party going. Jay Goldberg, Seaport Research Partners senior analyst, told Reuters the Nvidia result isn’t enough to “assuage concerns about the broader ecosystem”.
“The list of things that could go wrong for Nvidia is longer than the list of things that could go right."
One noteworthy takeaway from the earnings this morning was that Nvidia's customer base is becoming increasingly concentrated. Four customers (almost certainly Microsoft, Google, Alphabet and Amazon) account for 61% of Nvidia's sales, up from 56% in Q2.
That won't do much to dissuade those convinced that the AI sector has become one big circular economy.
ASX 200 trading 1% higher
[10:58 am] An impressive first hour of trading for the local bourse now has the ASX 200 1.04% up on the day, propped up by a surging Information Technology sector that itself is riding high on the Nvidia results this morning.
The index is still down 1% for the week so far, but a strong showing today and tomorrow could see it end the week in the green. But best not to get ahead of ourselves.
DroneShield responds to ASX query over director share sale
[10:46 am] Former (too soon?) market darling DroneShield has looked to clear the air on the recent dumping of DRO shares by three directors and the sudden departure of US CEO Matt McCrann.
The company has insisted it was unaware of the directors' decisions to dispose of DRO shares until after the market closed on 12 November and said the directors in question told the company there was no agreement between the three of them to sell. It believes it has fully complied with its disclosure obligations.
DroneShield had been trading almost 900% up year-to-date in early October, but has now crashed more than 55% in a month after the directors sold their holdings.
Top gainers and losers
[10:37 am] Here are the biggest winners and losers from this morning's trading session so far. Some promising moves from lithium producers, as well as financial services names like Zip and Block Inc, both of which have endured heavy selloffs over the last month or so.
Information Technology up, Utilities down
[10:12 am] It's a strong start to the day for the IT sector, up more than 4% in early trading, with solid gains across the sector, notably NextDC, Technology One and Megaport.
At the other end of the spectrum, it's a weak showing from Utilities, down almost 2%.
ASX 200 trading higher
[10:06 am] Presumably buoyed by the Nvidia results this morning, the ASX 200 is trading this morning at 8,497.6, up 0.59% from yesterday's close.
It promises to be an intriguing day for local stocks as the index looks to claw back the losses it's seen over the last week and month.
Liontown update on first Kathleen Valley spodumene sales
[9:50 am] Battery minerals miner Liontown has offered an update on its first digital spot sales auction for spodumene concentrate at its Kathlenn Valley site. The auction of 10,000 wet metric tonnes attracted more than 50 qualified buyers, with the winning bid at US$1,254/dmt for SC6.0-equivalent product.
It's a promising step for what has been an ailing lithium sector in Australia.
Company page: Liontown Resources (LTR)
Nvidia's Jensen Huang: We see something "very different" to AI bubble
[9:31 am] Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has just began speaking on this morning's earnings call, and his opening remarks are fairly bullish. Addressing investor fears of an AI-led bubble, Huang said:
"From our vantage point, we see something very different. As a reminder, Nvidia is unlike any other accelerator. We excel at every phase of AI, from pre-training and post-training to inference."
More on Nvidia results
[9:20 am] We'll bring you the updates from the ongoing Nvidia call once they come through, but here's some more detail on this morning's seismic NVDA earnings:
Q3 revenue at US$57.01bn (3.3% beat), and 62% up YoY, 22% QoQ
Adjusted EPS at US$1.30, up 60% YoY, 24% QoQ
Adjusted gross margin 73.6%, adjusted net income US$31.77bn, up 59% YoY
Q4 guidance is US$65bn revenue (4.8% beat), Adjusted gross margin ~75%
Free cash flow of US$22.09bn, up 32% YoY
In a statement, CEO Jensen Huang confirmed cloud GPUs were sold out, and said “compute demand keeps accelerating and compounding across training and inference, each growing exponentially. We’ve entered the virtuous cycle of AI.”
So far it seems like this result is the shot in the arm the flagging stock markets needed. It certainly suggests demand for AI chips is stronger than ever, and stronger than analysts expected. It's the first time Nvidia has reported accelerating revenue growth in seven quarters.
Cash Converters completes retail equity round
[9:12 am] Cash Converters International has finished the retail component of its equity offering, raising $25m at $0.305 per share, with shareholders taking 29% of entitlements. The raise is intended to fund the acquisition of 29 new Australian franchise stores.
Company page: Cash Converters International (CCV)
Nvidia up 4% in extended trading
[9:00 am] Off the back of what are pretty impressive quarterly results, Nvidia has bounced back and is trading 4.39% higher in after hours trading, after closing 2.85% in regular trading.
As we mentioned before, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is about to speak at the company call, and it's fair to say the nature of his comments could prove hugely influential in the near-term for markets.
a2 Milk increases FY guidance, announces special dividend
[8:57 am] a2 Milk Co. has upped its FY revenue growth forecasts to 10-13%, well ahead of consensus estimates. It is expected to hit NZ$2.09-2.15bn in revenue, with EBITDA margin % between 15-16%.
The specialist milk company has also announced plans for a NZ$300m special dividend, subject to regulatory approvals for amendments to two existing Chinese label registrations. The dividend will be unimputed and fully-franked.
Company page: a2 Milk (A2M)
Nvidia earnings
[8:40 am] Chipmaker Nvidia has reported Q3 earnings revenue of US$57 billion, and forecasts Q4 revenue of US$65 billion, ahead of expectations. Gross margins are also expected to come in at 74.8% and 75% in Q4.
The chipmaker (and world's most valuable company) has become the bellwether for the AI boom. While these results are promising, a lot will rest on CEO Jensen Huang's comments in this morning's company call (at 9am AEDT).
Good morning!
[8:10 am] ASX 200 futures are up 0.63% as of 8:25 am AEDT.
Major US benchmarks slightly up, with the S&P 500 up 0.38%, NASDAQ Composite up 0.59%.
Bitcoin drops below US$90,000 for first time since April
Nvidia is about to report earnings this morning, analysts already expecting a big beat and guidance upgrade
