Christmas has come early for the bank’s shareholders with the decision to slightly increase the 2024 dividend – despite a single-digit decline in the net profit and cash earnings.
Beating the market benchmark is never easy, with 72 per cent of Australian actively managed global equity general funds trailing the S&P World Index in the six months to June 30, 2024. Domestic equity funds performed slightly better, albeit against a significantly lower bar set by the S&P/ASX 200 Index.
Markets suffer worst drop since pandemic began, ASX enters correction, Polynovo a rare winner
Anyone keeping up with the news overnight is aware of the headlines. $88 billion lost in a single day, market crumbles, stocks tank; there will be no lack of hyperbole following the worst day for the S&P/ASX200 since March 2020.
The market fell by close to 5 per cent during the session, following a rough session on Wall Street, but ultimately finished down 3.6 per cent.
Every sector of the market was lower, with even 2022’s top performers in energy and materials falling 4.9 and 4.4 per cent respectively.
Technology fell 4.4 per cent, with utilities, staples and communications ‘outperforming’ by losing less than 2 per cent.
Iron ore prices added to concerns over higher interest rates in the US, with the price hitting US$133 and sending Fortescue (ASX: FMG) down 8.7 and BHP (ASX: BHP) 5.6 per cent.
Only nine stocks managed to finish higher, with six finishing unchanged; Computershare (ASX: CPU) was a rare winner gaining 1.6 per cent.
All the volatility essentially comes down to the higher cost of capital as interest rates rise and the growing risk of a recession should central banks pull the cash rate lever too hard.
Bond yield hits 4 per cent, US dollar surges, rough day to report
Of particular interest to investors was the fact that the Australian Government 10-year bond yield surged to over 4 per cent during the session, a massive increase from the 1.2 per cent reached during 2021.
The market is essentially suggesting that the central bank will raise the cash rate beyond 3 per cent, potentially sending mortgage rates to 6 per cent and likely putting pressure on both the housing sector and jobs market.
The immediate impact has been on technology valuations, with both Zip Co (ASX: ZIP) and Block (ASX: SQ2) falling by more than 15 per cent once again, along with uranium-developed Paladin (ASX: PDN) which fell another 10 per cent.
The S&P/ASX200 has now breached the 10 per cent fall called a ‘correction’ with the S&P500 down more than 20 per cent from its January high.
Shares in Viva Leisure (ASX: VVA) fell by 7 per cent despite reaffirming guidance for both earnings and revenue in FY22 with the gym operator seeing a jump in subscriptions.
SkyCity (ASX: SKC) in New Zealand also confirmed its guidance, flagging earnings of around $135 to $140 million
Global selloff slows, producer inflation increases, Oracle beats
The global selloff appeared to slow overnight, with most benchmarks trading higher throughout the session but ultimately tipping into negative territory.
The S&P500 fell 0.4 per cent and the Dow Jones 0.5, however, the Nasdaq was boosted by a strong result from Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) gaining 0.2 per cent.
The four-day drop of 9.9 per cent in the S&P500 is nearly unmatched in history, equalling the March 2020 fall.
Markets are concerned that the Federal Reserve may opt to increase the cash rate by 0.75 per cent at the next opportunity adding to the risk of recession, with a 0.8 per cent increase in producer prices evidencing the overly sticky nature of current inflation.
Oracle was a standout, with the database giant gaining more than 10 per cent after beating earnings and revenue forecasts.
Management reported a 10 per cent increase in top-line sales revenue, fuelled by the cloud, which was the fastest growth in more than a decade.
Keeping focused on individual company performance during selloffs will remain key to long-term success.
