Weekly review: market shrugs off sixth consecutive RBA rate hike
每周市场报告
Despite the Reserve Bank of Australia raising rates for the sixth month in a row, raising the official cash rate by 25 points to 2.6% on Tuesday, the market made strong gains with the ASX 200 rallying 4.46% for the week to close at 6762.8 points.
The hike was short of the 50 basis points most market participants were expecting, signalling that the RBA is slowing down on its tightening measures in an attempt to curtail inflation.
Coal and gas sector benefit from OPEC oil supply cut
OPEC this week agreed to cut output of oil by 2 million barrels per day starting in November.
Oil prices have been falling in recent months from their US$126 per barrel highs in March to now just above $92pb, helping easing the pace of inflation by lowering global fuel costs, however this latest move by OPEC won’t aid the cause.
As a result, alternative energy sources such as coal saw gains with Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) up 21.64% for the week and New Hope Corporation (ASX: NHC) having now almost doubled within a month.
Over in the gas sector Santos (ASX: STO) rose 9.27% for the week.
Perhaps showing why Warren Buffet has been making a play on the energy sector in recent times, as energy appears to be a mega-trend gaining momentum.
Silver’s biggest one day gain since 2008
Precious metals may be out of the spotlight as of late, however that didn’t stop silver from rallying over 8% on Monday, its largest single day gain since 2008.
Silver gave up some of the gains by the end of the week to close up 4.85% at $20.12 per ounce
Meanwhile gold can’t seem to catch a bid despite the macro environment where many would expect it to shine as a safe haven asset, closing the week at US$1695 per ounce.
The rise in the US dollar largely to blame for the lacklustre performance in precious metals this year.
Cannabis sector gets a rise from Biden
Cannabis stocks received a boost on Friday following news that US President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of Americans convicted of “simple possession” of marijuana under federal law.
A major step toward decriminalising the currently classified Schedule I drug, despite the plant having clear medical use.
In Friday trade, Creso Pharma’s (ASX: CPH) share price rose 25% for the day, while Elixinol Wellness (ASX: EXL) shares were up 17.86%, along with Althea Group (ASX: AGH) by 17.5%, ECS Botanics (ASX: ECS) by 15%, Incannex Healthcare (ASX: IHL) by 14.3% and Little Green Pharma (ASX: LGP) finished the day 9.6% higher.
Small cap stock action
The Small Ords index soared 4.74% this week to close at 2739.7 points.
ASX 200 vs Small Ords
Small cap companies making headlines this week were:
Scout Security (ASX: SCT)
Scout Security will make a foray into the Australian security market with the launch of its indoor and outdoor high-definition cameras on Amazon.com.au before month end.
The company has completed initial setup of its e-commerce store front, with inventory being transferred to Amazon in Australia via logistics service Fulfillment by Amazon.
Amazon is a Scout shareholder and long-time partner of the company.
Scout said the cameras would be the first in a more extensive line-up planned for the Australian market.
Credit Clear (ASX: CCR)
Receivables management solutions provider Credit Clear this week expanded its working relationship with ARMA Group after being appointed to the insurer’s third-party recoveries panel.
It also signed Zurich Australian Insurance, Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Company Australia (ADICA) and an undisclosed motor insurance provider to its books.
Credit Clear has predicted that insurance-related work will make a materially larger contribution to group revenue in the next 12 months of approximately $5.5 million – up 150% from $2.2 million in FY2022.
Vonex (ASX: VN8)
Vonex has confirmed the acquisition of Queensland telco OntheNet will boost its 2023 group revenue to around $52.4 million.
The transaction will cost Vonex $9.6 million, with $7.7 million paid in cash and the remaining $1.9 million in escrowed shares.
Longreach Credit Investors has been secured to provide $8 million in financing, which will also cover the associated transaction costs.
AD1 Holdings (ASX: AD1)
Technology company AD1 Holdings has attributed a $6 million annual group revenue to an investment in products, sales and marketing.
Latest figures show the company’s financial performance was supported by more than 60 contract wins across three divisions with cash receipts growing 35% to total $6.8 million.
AD1 has forecast a total revenue in excess of $30 million for the 2023 financial year following the $65 million acquisition of Scout Talent Group in August.
Lithium Energy (ASX: LEL)
Shares in Lithium Energy rocketed more than 60% this week after the company announced it had intercepted 105m of highly conductive brines in the maiden hole at its Solaroz lithium brine project in Argentina.
Solaroz is adjacent to and surrounded by major lithium miners Allkem (ASX: AKE), and Lithium Americas (NYSE: LAC).
Lithium Energy’s first hole was part of a 10-hole program for 5,000m at Solaroz, which is 10km from Allkem’s lithium facility and production bore field.
The maiden hole encountered the highly conductive brines from 65m to 170m.
Samples will be sent for laboratory analysis.
Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals (ASX: PAR)
Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals reported this week that it had achieved the primary endpoint of a phase 2 clinical trial.
Patients suffering from osteoarthritis in the trial were treated with Paradigm’s injectable PPS drug.
The study found iPPS-treated subjects demonstrated “statistically significant improvement” in pain and function on the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC).
Additionally, the trial demonstrated synovial fluid biomarker change from baseline in the iPPS treatment group.
The week ahead
In the local market, business confidence and consumer sentiment data will be out to help decipher the general mood of market participants.
Overnight in the US we’ll see unemployment numbers and non farm payrolls, depending on the data it will likely impact how the ASX opens on Monday morning.
Later next week we’ll see the producer price index and inflation data for September, while a lagging indicator it will may help determine what the Federal Reserve will do next with rates.
The rhetoric from the Fed is that inflation must be defeated at all cost, however in the past we have seen the central bank pivot and go back to easy monetary policy. Will this time be different?
Next week we also have the latest data from China on their inflation and balance of trade.
In contrast to many other central banks around the world that are tightening, China lowered its interest rate by 0.05 percentage points, from 3.7% to 3.65% in August of this year.