• The ASX will open lower on Monday
  • Wall Street megacaps mainly fell on Friday
  • This week’s focus will be on US CPI data

 

The ASX 200 is set to open lower on Monday and extend its 1% loss last week. At 8am AEST, the ASX 200 index futures was pointing down by -0.15%.

On Friday, Wall Street finished half a per cent lower as megacaps slipped.

Apple fell 5% as its market cap slipped below US$3 trillion after posting a 1% decline in quarterly sales.

Paypal fell 2% on concerns over its margins and competition from Apple Pay.

Amazon surged 8% after delivering strong profit for the quarter on e-commerce and cloud sales.

According to data from Refinitiv, of the 392 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported quarterly earnings, almost 80% have beatean analysts’ estimate.

Meanwhile, traders assessed non-farm payrolls data, which increased by 187,000 jobs last month.

“The Fed has likely ended its most aggressive tightening campaign in generations, with a reasonable path to a soft landing,” said Candice Tse of Goldman Sachs.

Bond yields fell after the jobs report – suggesting bets on lower rates – with the 10-year Treasuries yield declining 13bp to 4.05%.

 

US and China inflation in focus this week

The key measures to watch this week are inflation data in both China and the US.

The US will release its CPI data on Thursday. Commsec research says core consumer prices in the US (exclude food and energy) are expected to lift by 0.2% in July, but remain steady in annual terms at 4.8%.

China meanwhile is expected to release data on Wednesday showing that inflation is going backwards, ie: deflation.

“In a deflation scenario, consumers and businesses continue to hold back on spending with expectations that prices will fall further, raising concerns of price spirals,” said Josh Gilbert, a market analyst at eToro.

Now read: Traders’ Diary: Son of a Fitch

 

In other markets …

Gold rose modestly by 0.15% to US$1,944.99 an ounce.

Aaccording to Joe Cavatoni from the World Gold Council, gold has struggled to trade above US$2k due to real world demand.

“We mentioned consumers, so jewellery in China and India, these are price-sensitive businesses and price-sensitive consumers,” Cavatoni told Bloomberg.

Crude prices climbed by 0.5%, with WTI now trading at US$83.21 a barrel, as Saudi increased prices for most of its crude to Asia for September deliveries.

Iron ore 62% fe rose almost +1% to $US105.18/ a tonne.

Bitcoin meanwhile lifted by +0.25% in the last 24 hours to US$29,110.

Alphabet’s chatbot, Google Bard, said the best day to buy BTC is on Sunday.

Question:
“Bard, what is the best day of the week to buy cryptocurrency?”

Answer:
“According to historical market data, the best day of the week to buy cryptocurrency is Sunday. The second best day is Saturday. After that, prices rise with Friday being the most expensive day to buy cryptocurrency.”

 

5 ASX small caps to watch today

Raiden Resources (ASX:RDN)
Raiden has entered into agreement with Arrow Minerals (ASX:AMD) to earn-in to an 85% position of the Arrow Project Lithium-Caesium-Tantalum rights, with option to purchase 100% of those rights. These rights are to be executed within three months, by making a $250k cash payment and issuing $250k in RDN shares to Arrow. The project is located in proven lithium-pegmatite district with defined lithium bearing pegmatites hosted in adjacent projects.

One Click Group (ASX:1CG)
One Click Group continues its rapid business growth, recording ~$2 million revenue in July on its fintech platforms. User numbers have exceeded 100,000. Meanwhile, 12-month rolling revenue now exceeds $3.3m only 10 months after listing. One Click serves the increasing market demand for online self-directed financial and life admin services.

Memphasys (ASX:MEM)
Memphasys has signed an exclusive agreement with Vitrolife Japan to sell and distribute the Felix system in Japan, for a term of five years. Apart from marketing activities, Vitrolife will also work with Memphasys to build clinical data sets over time to position the Felix system to later receive full insurance coverage in Japan. Felix combines electrophoresis with proprietary membranes to separate sperm cells for human artificial reproduction.

Restaurant Brands NZ (ASX:RBD)
RBD’s total sales for Q2 increased 7.1% to $331.6 million. The company also announced full year NPAT guidance for FY23, which is now expected to be in the range of $12 million to $16 million. Restaurant Brands operates the New Zealand franchises for KFC, Pizza Hut, Carl’s Jr. and Taco Bell.

Celsius Resources (ASX:CLA)
The Philippines Government has issued a two-year exploration permit for Celsius’ Botilao Copper-Gold Prospect. The exploration work program will now be implemented along with an environmental work and community development work programs, which will be developed in consultation with the host community.

 

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Raiden Resources is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article. 

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