Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
Aussie stocks rallied for the sixth time in seven sessions as traders bought yesterday’s coronavirus-inspired dip.
The ASX 200 hit a new record high, rising 51 points or 0.7 per cent to 7118 as most Asian markets mounted tentative rebounds from yesterday’s heavy falls.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng bounced 0.1 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 0.3 per cent. China’s Shanghai Composite, which tanked 1.41 per cent yesterday, slipped another 0.95 per cent in early trade. S&P 500 index futures edged up five points or almost 0.2 per cent.
Global markets were rattled yesterday by the spread of the coronavirus into the US, Japan, Thailand and South Korea. The virus has claimed six lives and infected more than 300 people since emerging in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The S&P 500 retreated 0.27 per cent overnight.
The big supermarkets led the advance for a second day. Woolworths rose 2.1 per cent to a new all-time high. Coles pushed past its early-December record close with a gain of 1.8 per cent. Treasury Wine Estates put on 1.7 per cent and A2M Milk Company 2.6 per cent.
Tech stocks also shone. Wisetech climbed 3.6 per cent, Iress 2.9 per cent and Altium 1.8 per cent. ResMed was the best of the health leaders, rising 2 per cent to a new peak. CSL pushed up 1.3 per cent, Ramsay Health Care 0.9 per cent.
NAB underperformed the broader market, rising 0.2 per cent following a report that law firm Maurice Blackburn will fill a class action on behalf of 330,000 clients who claimed the bank failed to transfer their superannuation into cheaper, no-frills accounts. CBA and ANZ both put on 1 per cent. Westpac dipped 0.2 per cent.
Stocks exposed to potential loss of revenue from the coronavirus declined for a second day. Sydney Airport fell 1.2 per cent, Qantas 1.7 per cent, Flight Centre 2.8 per cent and Webjet 0.7 per cent.
Iron ore miners started weak but gained momentum as the morning wore on. Fortescue jumped 3.1 per cent to move decisively past its pre-GFC peak. Rio Tinto edged up 0.3 per cent and BHP 0.4 per cent.
Consumer confidence continued to decline this month amid gloomy headlines about drought, bushfires and climate change. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index declined 1.8 per cent from 95.1 last month to 93.4, a level seen only seven times over the last decade.
Brent crude futures retreated 21 cents or 0.3 per cent this morning to $US64.38 a barrel. Gold slid $3 or 0.2 per cent to $US1,554.90 an ounce.
The dollar eased another fifth of a cent to 68.31 US cents.
What’s hot today and what’s not:
Hot today: skin specialist PolyNovo (PNV) joined the growing ‘All-time High Club’ this morning after announcing its first product orders for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “We are off and running in Europe,” declared Chairman David Williams. The company received orders for its NovoSorb BTM product for regenerating skin lost to burns or during surgery. The company was the ASX 200’s best performer, rising 22 cents or 9 per cent to a record $2.77.
Not today: gold miner St Barbara (SBM) retreated from a near four-month high after revealing delays at its Gwalia extension in WA will impact on production. The company cut its financial-year expectations at the site to 170,000-180,000 ounces of gold from previous guidance of 175,000-190,000. Expected costs also increased. The share price fell 10 cents or 3.3 per cent to $2.91.
