ASX 200 futures are up 32pts (0.38%) as of 8:30 am AEDT.
In a nutshell:
US stocks experienced a broad-based rally on Trump optimism
Markets are getting flogged with Trump headlines (both good and bad)
Gold and uranium equities rallied overnight plus quarterlies from a long list of local miners (including Woodside and Iluka Resource)
Let's dive in.
Wed 22 Jan 25, 8:20am (AEDT)
Wed 22 Jan 25, 8:20am (AEDT)
Major US benchmarks finished higher and at best levels
S&P 500 above the 6,000 level for the first time since late December
Equal-weight S&P 500 outperforming the official benchmark by 28 bps, signaling strong breadth
Relatively claim session despite an avalanche of Trump news, including less-than-feared tariff developments, ramp up in US energy production,
Markets jolted by Trump's 25% tariff warning to Canada and Mexico (FT)
Apple iPhones dived 18.2% in China during the December quarter, with Huawei taking top spot (BBG)
Williams-Sonoma CEO says tariff threats have caused company to slash China exposure (YH)
Adidas quarterly beat driven by sustained strength for retro sneakers, shrinking Yeezy stockpile (BBG)
Huawei seeks to eat into market share in AI chips from Nvidia in China (FT)
Investors remain bullish on US stocks and dollar, bearish in most other assets
Most underweight bonds since October 2022
Sentiment fell slightly, suggesting some froth has eased
Cash levels unchanged at 3.9%, lowest since June 2021
If concerns over tariffs and disorderly bonds turn out to be unfounded, assets that have lagged the US are likely to play catch-up
European equity allocations experienced second largest jump in the past 25 years
Global growth expectations remain tepid (down 15 percentage points MoM to net -8%), though 26% expect global economic boom, highest since April 2022
Inflation expectations jumped to highest level since March 2022
Donald Trump inaugurated as 47th US president on Tuesday, vowing a 'golden age' for America and outlining policy actions he intended to take immediately (BBG)
Trump flags 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada from 1-Feb (BBG)
Trump calls for China trade investigation instead of immediate tariffs (BBG)
Trump declares national energy emergency to ramp up oil output (RT);
Trump threatens tariffs on Europe unless it buys more American oil (BBG)
Trump gives 75 day reprieve for TikTok (BBG)
US withdrawn from Paris climate deal (RT)
Trump revokes Biden's 50% EV target, freezes unspent charging funds (BBG)
Trump to announce US$500bn in private sector investment to build AI infrastructure (CBS)
Wed 22 Jan 25, 8:25am (AEDT)
Chalice Mining appoints Dan Brearly, former General Manager at Evolution Mining, as COO (CHN)
Endeavour’s separation from Woolworths could cost up to $570 million (AFR)
Iluka reports Q4 Z/R/SR production of 129.4kt vs. 116.8kt consensus (ILU)
Paladin Energy reports Q2 net cash from ops of $43.3m, production for the quarter was in-line with expectations (PDN)
Pilbara Minerals acquisition of Latin Resources approved by Supreme Court of WA (LRS)
Regal Partners reports 31-Dec FUM of $18.02bn, up 4.5% from the previous quarter (RPL)
Trump: We’ve returned to the kind of market where one Trump comment can send markets ripping or dipping. On Tuesday, the ASX 200 was up 1.26% at 11.16 am. When Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, the market was trading up just 0.20% by 12:00 pm but bounced to a 0.66% gain by close
Uranium: Uranium ETF rallied 4.1% overnight and finished at best levels. This could see some strong price action for local names, many of which are heavily shorted
Gold: Gold rallied 1.1% overnight and within 2% of all-time highs. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF finished 2.3% higher (off session highs of 3.2%). Further gold momentum should continue to benefit local names, many of which have rallied 10-15% in the past couple of weeks
Hub24: I made an error yesterday that confused Hub's total FUA for 2Q25 ($129.0bn) vs. its platform FUA ($98.9bn). The platform FUA is the key number here, which was 1.1% ahead of Macquarie estimates of $97.7bn and tracking towards the company's FY26 goal of $115-123bn
Hub24 upgraded to Buy from Hold with $73 target (OM)
Stocks trading ex-dividend:
Wed 22 Jan: Leo Lithium (LLL) – $0.505
Thu 23 Jan: Mirrabooka Investments (MIR) – $0.045
Fri 24 Jan: None
Other ASX corporate actions today:
Dividends paid: Eildon Capital (EDC)
Listing: None
Quarterly earnings: Iluka Resources (ILU), Woodside Energy (WDS)
AGMs: None
Economic calendar (AEDT):
No major economic announcements.
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