ASX to open flattish after an underwhelming CPI print
\nGoogle lost monopoly case to Epic Games, and oil prices at six-month l0w
\nAnd there are lessons investors can learn from 2023<\/p>\n
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Aussie shares are poised to open flat on Wednesday after US CPI<\/strong> tracked economists\u2019 forecasts, strengthening hopes of a Fed rate cut.<\/p>\n US stocks were firmly in the green after the CPI release. The S&P 500 rose by +0.38%, the blue chips Dow Jones index was up by +0.43% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lifted by +0.60%.<\/p>\n US inflation rate slipped to 3.1% in November from 3.2% the previous month, but the closely watched core inflation (which excludes food and energy costs) rose 0.3% in November.<\/p>\n One expert has warned, however, that investors should not be over-confident the Fed will cut rates soon.<\/p>\n \u201cInflation remains sticky. The Fed will not want to take the risk of pivoting on policy too soon by cutting rates,\u201d said Nigel Green of deVere Group.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that the data is still not strong enough for the central bank of the world\u2019s largest economy to commit to reversing its most aggressive tightening campaign in decades \u2013 yet the markets seem ready to confidently and heavily price-in rate cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n To stocks, Alphabet<\/strong> fell -0.66% after Google<\/strong> lost a monopoly case to Fortnite maker, Epic Games<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Epic Games sued Google in 2020, accusing it of unlawfully making its app store dominant over rivals, and now jurors in San Francisco agreed with Epic and found that the search giant had operated an illegal monopoly.<\/p>\n Computer maker HP Inc<\/strong> fell -0.43% after Berkshire Hathaway<\/strong> cut its holding in the stock by half. Berkshire had held 5.2% of HP on November 30.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Jessica\u00a0Amir,\u00a0a market strategist at moomoo<\/strong>, shares her\u00a0biggest investor lessons from 2023.<\/p>\n The first lesson, she says, is that a company\u2019s share price is based on future cash flows, not necessarily how it performed in the past.<\/p>\n The second lesson is that quality is always key.<\/p>\n \u201cWonderful companies with high repeatable cashflows and a strong outlook outperformed the market,\u201d Amir said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is why we shouldn\u2019t ignore a company that we think is \u2018too expensive\u2019, as Warren Buffett and the late Charlie Munger would say \u201cIt is far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.\u201d<\/p>\n And the third lesson we need to learn from 2023 is the need to review portfolios and adjust when the tides change.<\/p>\n Commodities, gold, and companies linked in Bitcoin\u2019s accent, such as Nvidia and Block, have started to see substantial moves higher in the back end of 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cCopper is an economic growth proxy. China is the biggest consumer of copper. And we\u2019ve seen the biggest imports into China in two years, on a month-on-month basis with copper imports up 10%, showing China\u2019s economy is starting to finally make waves,\u201d Amir said.<\/p>\n \u201cGold recently hit a record high. Its rally will likely continue, given the Fed is likely to cut interest rates to avert a recession.<\/p>\n \u201cPlus Bitcoin cracked a 175% gain so far this year, plus it\u2019s mainstream usage is increasing. Public profitable companies such as Tesla, and Microsoft accept Bitcoin as payment.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u00a0even\u00a0use Bitcoin to pay for flights and coffee. Block makes 40% of its revenue from Bitcoin,\u201d Amir said.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Gold price<\/strong> fell by -0.1% to US$1,979.58 an ounce.<\/p>\n Oil prices<\/strong> tumbled over -3%, with Brent now trading at US$73.44 a barrel. Crude prices have now slipped to their lowest level in six months, on concern about oversupply.<\/p>\n US 10-year Treasury yield<\/strong> fell 3 basis points to at 4.20%.<\/p>\n Iron ore futures<\/strong> was up +0.4% to US$135.66 a tonne.<\/p>\n The Aussie dollar<\/strong> fell by -0.15% to US65.60c.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Bitcoin<\/strong> rose 0.5% in the past 24 hours to US$41,327.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n SRJ Technologies (ASX:SRJ)<\/a><\/strong> Equinox Resources (ASX:EQN)<\/a><\/strong> WIA Gold (ASX:WIA)<\/a><\/strong> Firebird Metals (ASX:FRB)<\/a><\/strong> Everest Metals (ASX:EMC)<\/a><\/strong> \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post Market Highlights: Stocks rise after US CPI print, lessons from 2023, and 5 ASX small caps to watch today<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Biggest investor lessons from 2023<\/h2>\n
In other markets \u2026<\/h2>\n
5 ASX small caps to watch today]<\/h2>\n
\nSRJ announced that it has been awarded a contract by a globally renowned energy technology company, Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR), for the supply of its flange bolt integrity equipment, BoltEx. The initial order was valued at $231k, with subsequent larger order under negotiation. The deal follows recent SRJ product training conducted with Baker Hughes\u2019 global engineering team.<\/p>\n
\nEquinox says it has moved to rapidly expand its strategic rare earths exploration footprint in Brazil by applying for a new package of prospective rare earth clay tenements. This involves submitting strategic pegging applications for a ~850km2 Mining Rights package to establish the newly defined \u201cMata da Corda\u201d Project, located in the rare earth clay prospective province of Patos de Minas. If approved, this will expand the company\u2019s total exploration footprint in Brazil to ~2,550km2 .<\/p>\n
\nWIA reported assay results from 10 RC drill holes at the Kokoseb Gold Project in Namibia. Highlights include: thick mineralised shoot and strong depth extensions confirmed at the North-West zone: 42.7m at 1.67 g\/t Au from 155.9m in KDD015. Western zone was extended significantly at depth with further strong intercepts, including: 7.1m at 3.76 g\/t Au from 175m in KDD004.<\/p>\n
\nThe manganese developer announced another major milestone for its LMFP Battery Strategy, through the completion of an agreement for industrial land with Jinshi local government (in China) for the company\u2019s battery grade manganese sulphate plant. The agreement covers land allocation, tax incentive structures, land rebates for the plant and options for future plant expansions. The land is situated in the Jinshi High Tech Industries Development Zone, Jinshi, Hunan province, China.<\/p>\n
\nAssay results have reinforced a wide corridor up to 8.5 km of base metal sulphide mineralisation at Revere Gold and Base Metals Project in WA. Near surface gold mineralisation feeders were confirmed at depth, and pathfinders indicated potential for a large orogenic gold system to exist. Follow up drilling is now planned for the June 2024 quarter.<\/p>\n