ASX large caps roundup 30 May 2022. Picture Getty Image
ASX Large Caps: Tech index climbs 4pc amid hopes US inflation may have peaked
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- ASX 200 was up 1.3% today, led by Tech which jumped 4%
- A2M rose 10% after Bubs got export deal with the US
- AGL Energy cancels coal demerger plan
A surge in Tech stocks led the ASX to a 1.3% higher close today, following a strong rally on Wall Street last Friday.
US stocks had their best week since November of 2020, as each of the three major indices (S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq) rose by around 6%.
Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) climbed 10% today, along with other tech stocks like Xero (ASX:XRO) which jumped 6%, and Megaport (ASX:MP1) which rose 7%.
The market is upbeat about the possibility that US inflation may have peaked, with bond traders positioning bets on a faster end to the Fed rate hikes.
This came as the Fed’s favoured measure, the core personal consumer expenditure deflator, had slowed from 5.2% to 4.9% in April, the slowest rate since December.
“The slowing in inflation is very welcome, although headline inflation is likely to jump again on a monthly basis in May with another big spike in energy prices,” chief economist of PNC Financial Services, Gus Faucher, told MarketWatch.
Other experts also sceptical about the direction of inflation.
“It is still too early to call what the actual hiking path will be,” Peter Schaffrik of RBC Capital Markets told Bloomberg.
“Yet, the path forward for the second half of the year does not seem to be set in stone — giving markets room for interpretation for the time being.”
A couple critical data points this week include Australia’s GDP data on Wednesday, and the US unemployment rate data on Friday (US time).
BIG CAP WINNERS
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| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SQ2 | Block | 129.26 | 10% | 246,309 | $5,120,640,021 |
| NVX | Novonix Limited | 4.11 | 10% | 4,084,792 | $1,812,272,231 |
| A2M | The A2 Milk Company | 4.72 | 9% | 11,298,662 | $3,212,596,201 |
| IEL | Idp Education Ltd | 25.01 | 8% | 744,993 | $6,457,400,095 |
| MFG | Magellan Fin Grp Ltd | 16.03 | 8% | 1,411,101 | $2,763,451,208 |
| MP1 | Megaport Limited | 7.63 | 7% | 985,033 | $1,124,596,994 |
| JLG | Johns Lyng Group | 6.06 | 7% | 941,018 | $1,469,636,070 |
| TLX | Telix Pharmaceutical | 4.57 | 7% | 772,651 | $1,336,410,312 |
| CXL | Calix Limited | 8.345 | 7% | 688,173 | $1,262,913,695 |
| CMM | Capricorn Metals | 3.77 | 6% | 437,232 | $1,315,394,733 |
| PNI | Pinnacle Investment | 8.47 | 6% | 513,750 | $1,596,482,376 |
| NWL | Netwealth Group | 13.21 | 6% | 134,967 | $3,045,221,884 |
| CXO | Core Lithium | 1.375 | 5% | 18,792,947 | $2,260,720,827 |
A2Milk (ASX:A2M) was up 10% today on the back of positive sentiment in favour of milk stocks today.
On Friday night, US President Biden tweeted that the US government had clinched a deal with Bubs Australia (ASX:BUB) to ship 1.25 million tins – or the equivalent of 27.5 million bottles – to the US.
The news sent Bubs share price up 44% today.
Telix Pharma (ASX:TLX) rose 7% after announcing that its prostate cancer imaging agent, Illuccix, has been granted Transitional Pass-Through Payment Status by the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
From 1 July, CMS and commercial health insurers will recognise the Level II code assigned to Illuccix for reimbursement.
BIG CAP LOSERS
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| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YAL | Yancoal Aust Ltd | 5.63 | -7% | 2,193,333 | $8,028,271,777 |
| NHC | New Hope Corporation | 3.615 | -5% | 3,578,254 | $3,162,956,912 |
| ABB | Aussie Broadband | 4.1 | -3% | 479,693 | $1,005,145,988 |
| HGH | Heartland Group | 1.93 | -3% | 1,036 | $1,179,878,602 |
| ELD | Elders Limited | 13.14 | -3% | 423,028 | $2,117,128,046 |
| TAH | TABCORP Holdings Ltd | 0.9825 | -3% | 30,110,221 | $2,248,029,420 |
| SYA | Sayona Mining Ltd | 0.205 | -2% | 49,118,463 | $1,509,495,500 |
| PPH | Pushpay Holdings Ltd | 1.2875 | -2% | 336,241 | $1,500,019,610 |
| GMA | Genworth Mortgage | 2.94 | -2% | 793,556 | $1,170,476,439 |
| 5EA | 5Eadvanced | 3.43 | -2% | 1,314,376 | $1,080,834,055 |
| AGL | AGL Energy Limited. | 8.71 | -2% | 4,541,667 | $5,967,267,957 |
| ERA | Energy Resources | 0.285 | -2% | 243,421 | $1,070,501,127 |
| MCY | Mercury NZ Limited | 5.22 | -2% | 27,183 | $7,337,593,307 |
| DBI | Dalrymple Bay | 2.055 | -2% | 229,506 | $1,036,141,884 |
| ALD | Ampol Limited | 33.45 | -2% | 415,308 | $8,102,271,366 |
| VEA | Viva Energy Group | 2.875 | -2% | 2,550,480 | $4,530,352,149 |
| 29M | 29Metalslimited | 2.69 | -1% | 1,358,962 | $1,314,001,937 |
AGL Energy (ASX:AGL) was down 2% after withdrawing the demerger proposal of its coal business under intense pressure from its largest shareholder, Mike Cannon-Brookes. The decision has resulted in the resignations of AGL’s Chairman Peter Botten and CEO, Graeme Hunt.
Meanwhile, Yancoal’s (ASX:YAL) dropped 7% after minority shareholders of Australia’s third most prolific coal miner have used the 2022 AGM this morning to let fly about a proposal that could see its Chinese parent take out the $8 billion coal miner at a shocking 16.6% discount to its last traded price.
Yancoal shares were paying $6.08 on Wednesday before entering a trading halt as controlling shareholder Hong Kong-listed Yankuang Energy Group announced plans for a lowball US$3.60 ($5.07) a share bid for the ~38% of the miner it didn’t already own.
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