ASX 200 futures are down 101pts (-1.20%) as of 8:30 am AEDT.
In a nutshell:
US stocks were trending higher until Trump announced tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China
The three countries are the largest trading partners with the US and analysts expect the tariffs to push up domestic prices and reduce household income
Healthcare stocks set to sell off on Monday amid tariff concerns, overseas listed ResMed and Fisher & Paykel shares down ~8%
Let's dive in.
Mon 03 Feb 25, 8:25am (AEDT)
Mon 03 Feb 25, 8:25am (AEDT)
Major US benchmarks lower, finished at worst levels after early strength
S&P 500 up as much as 0.82% before closing 0.51% lower
US weekly recap: Dow (+0.27%), Russell 2000 (-0.87%), S&P 500 (-1.00%), Nasdaq (-1.64%)
US monthly recap: Nasdaq (+1.64%), Russell 2000 (+2.58%), S&P 500 (+2.70%), Dow (+4.70%)
Today’s big story: Trump announced tariffs on Mexico and Canada (25% duties though 10% on Canadian energy) plus 10% on China
Countries are the three largest trading partners of the US and the move could raise prices of food, autos and consumer goods (CNBC)
Tariffed countries have all pledged to respond; China said it would take “corresponding countermeasures”, Canada imposed 25% tariffs on a wide range of US exports (RT)
Mag 7 stocks set to lag this year, suggesting investors buy cheap international stocks, says BofA's Hartnett (BBG)
Global equity funds draw biggest weekly inflow in five weeks, driven by a record rally in European shares (RT)
Atlassian (+14.9%) Q2 earnings beat against high bar, increased FY25 guidance more than expected, strong cloud and data centre performance, record number of high-value ACV deals (RT)
Apple (-0.6%) 1Q25 EPS beat, with gross margins 40 bps above estimates, iPhone revenue missed by ~2%, Mac and iPad outperformed, China a key area of weakness with sales down 11%, iPhone 16 demand stronger in markets where Apple Intelligence is available, March quarter revenue growth at low-to-mid single digits (BBG)
Samsung guidance subdued amid weak outlook for AI chips (FT)
China, Mexico and Canada are the three largest trading partners with the US, supplying US$536bn, $455bn and $437bn of goods respectively, to the US in 2022, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative
US household income after taxes could fall by ~1% in 2026 due to the 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico, according to the Tax Policy Centre
Tariffs could raise approximately US$1.3tn in revenue through 2035, offset by the cost of tax cuts, which could cost more than US$5tn over 10 years (CNBC)
Mon 03 Feb 25, 8:25am (AEDT)
AMA Group holder Thorney raises stake to 14.88% from 11.53% (AMA)
Austal shares under institutional accumulation, with buyers thinking the
company will benefit from Trump’s return to power (AFR)
Austin Engineering notes US tariffs, says business is shielded from impacts after recent repositioning of US business (ANG)
Fisher & Paykel continues to expect to reach 65% gross margins, does not currently anticipate a material impact from the announced tariffs on NPAT for FY25, but costs likely to increase in FY26 (FPH)
Myer holder Perpetual increases holding to 10.46% from 8.54% (MYR)
SelfWealth potentially in the midst of a bidding war after Singaporean investment platform Syfe discloses 19.99% holding, leaving it in a position to launch a bid to compete with Bell Financial’s current offer (SWF)
Here comes a heavy session: Expect broad-based weakness after the Trump tariffs. Most of the overnight ETFs above finished 1-3% lower, led by sub-sectors like copper miners, energy and homebuilders
Healthcare: Healthcare names like ResMed, Fisher & Paykel etc. have manufacturing facilities from the tariffed countries. US-listed ResMed ADRs finished the session down 8.3%, while NXZ-listed FPH shares are currently down 8.2%.
Gold: Gold prices briefly spiked to a record US$2,817 overnight but finished the session around breakeven at US$2,797. While gold is considered a safe haven, it still faces challenges in times of extreme uncertainty.
Bluescope Steel upgraded to Buy from Neutral; target up to $24 from $21 (CITI)
PointsBet downgraded to Overweight from Buy; target cut to $0.95 from $1.00 (JARD)
ResMed upgraded to Buy from Neutral; target up to US$290 from US$255 (UBS)
Zip upgraded to Buy from Neutral; but target cut to $3 from $3.30 (CITI)
Stocks trading ex-dividend:
Mon 3 Feb: Australian Foundation Investment Company (AFI) – $0.12, BKI Investment Company (BKI) – $0.039, Pengana Global Private Credit Trust (PCX) – $0.012
Tue 4 Feb: Amcil (AMH) – $0.01
Wed 5 Feb: None
Thu 6 Feb: Midway (MWY) – 31.43%
Fri 7 Feb: None
Other ASX corporate actions today:
Dividends paid: None
Listing: None
Earnings: Centuria Office REIT (COF)
AGMs: None
Economic calendar (AEDT):
10:30 pm: Australia Retail Sales (Dec)
11:45 pm: China Caixin Manufacturing PMI (Jan)
8:00 pm: Eurozone Inflation Rate (Jan)
1:00 am: US ISM Manufacturing PMI (Jan)
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