• The ASX closed flat on Wednesday
  • Local investors are closely watching earnings reports in both the US and Australia
  • EU to release inflation report tonight

 

The ASX 200 was subdued on Wednesday as investors weighed earnings results in the US against announcements on the ASX.

Overnight, Goldman Sachs raised concerns after a very disappointing Q4 result with profits plunging 68pc.

Morgan Stanley narrowly beat analysts’ expectations, and Microsoft was reported to be planning thousands of job cuts in its US engineering department.

Skynews put the number of cuts at 5% of the company’s 220,000-person workforce or about 11,000 employees in total.

Amazon however has reclaimed top spot as the world’s most valuable brand despite its ‘brand value’ falling 15% from US$350.3 billion to US$299.3 billion, according to a new report from brand valuation consultancy, Brand Finance.

Amazon’s brand strength rating fell from AAA+ to AAA as consumers evaluate it more harshly in the post-pandemic world.

 

Source: Brand Finance

 

Closer to home, the Yen slumped today as the BOJ (Bank of Japan) decided to maintain its dovish policy.

Investors were bracing for a potential policy shift, but left disappointed when Governor Haruhiko Kuroda kept the bank’s key rates unchanged. The Yen fell 2% against major currencies after the announcement.

Oil futures made gains in Asian hours on growing optimism that China will recover quickly this year. Traders are now anxiously awaiting a report from the IEA (International Energy Agency) to be released later tonight.

Back home, the ASX earnings season continues. We’re still waiting for the major players to report their half year, but today we saw Telix (ASX:TLX) jump 6pc after its Q4 release.

Telix’s revenue from sales of Illuccix in the US was up 43% to $76.8m on prior quarter, which Telix said was evidence of its strong growth trajectory.

ASX sectors meanwhile were mixed on Wednesday, with 5 in the red and 6 in the green.

Mining stocks were down as base metal prices see-sawed overnight, influenced by several factors including the soft Chinese GDP data and reports of a falling birth rate in the country.

Metal traders are also beginning to manoeuvre for positioning ahead of the Chinese lunar new year which starts this Saturday.

Looking ahead to tonight’s session, the EU will release the all-important CPI number while in the US, a slew of economic data is due out including: the Federal Reserve Beige Book, producer price index, industrial production, and the NAHB housing market index.

 

BIG CAP WINNERS

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Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA) was the best of the bunch today, up 8% on no specific news.

Ampol (ASX:ALD) rose 3% after releasing an update on its Lytton Refiner Margin (LRM) for the fourth quarter.

Ampol said LRM remained above historical levels averaging US$11.75 per barrel and compares favourably to the US$11.24 per barrel realised in the fourth quarter of 2021.

 

BIG CAP LOSERS

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Allkem (ASX:AKE) slipped half a percent after providing the market with a quarterly report.

Lithium carbonate sales for the quarter were 3,131 tonnes, generating record quarterly revenue of ~US$151 million with a gross cash margin of 90%.

The Olaroz Lithium Facility achieved record production of 4,253 tonnes of lithium carbonate which was up 17% on the pcp.

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