ASX News LIVE | ASX to Rise as S&P 500 Continues to Break All-Time Highs

Indonesian miner Nickel Industries [ASX:NIC] has shrugged off the wider sector concerns about nickel prices and announced a $100 million share buyback today.

The company has also increased its dividend to investors with a final dividend of 2.5 cents per share as nickel miners face challenges in Australia as nickel prices remain low.

Many Australian mines have recently shut down or paused operations, with over 10,000 jobs lost in the industry in WA since December and more job losses likely.

The Sydney-based Nickel Industries say its low-cost Indonesian mines are still profitable and producing record output, with 34,450 tonnes of nickel produced in the quarter.

The company still faced a 12.8% drop in earnings compared to the September quarter, but the company was hopeful that prices would return.

On his newly owned platform X (formally Twitter) Elon Musk announced the first human trial of his controversial Neuralink has begun.

The company received approval from the FDA to begin human trials in May last year, and today marks the first implant in a test subject.

According to Neuralink, the implant is undertaken by a robot that surgically places 64 threads into the brain area that controls ‘movement intention’.

This is then used for a chip that can decode those signals of a person’s intention to move.

The early trials and users will be focused on people who have lost the ability to control their limbs.

Here is a video from the company explaining the process.

Check out our latest video to learn more about our PRIME Study! 🧠📱 pic.twitter.com/7zTMFzdZsF

— Neuralink (@neuralink) November 22, 2023

Long-standing Vacuum cleaner retailer Godfreys has been placed into voluntary administration, with 50 stores closing across New Zealand and Australia.

The retailer has been in business since 1931 and has operated from 141 stores with over 600 staff.

PwC has been put in charge of the administration, with the firm closing 54 stores and nearly 200 staff losing their jobs while the company restructures in preparation for sale.

PwC administrator Craig Crosbie, who has been put in charge of the Australian entities commented today:

“Lower customer demand amid cost-of-living pressures, higher operating costs, and increased competition have all taken a toll on profitability, with some stores more impacted than others.”

Godfreys was once listed on the ASX but is now privately held.

The ASX 200 fell slightly around 11:30 after investors digested the weaker-than-expected retail data for December, which showed a -2.7% month-on-month fall in retail spending.

The December monthly data was still 0.8% higher than December 2022, but it showed a strong reversal from the prior month’s results.

Around midday, 10 of the 11 sectors were in the green, while energy was down -0.16% due to lower oil prices.

Technology stocks are today’s biggest gainers, with the XTX up 1.10% and the All Ords up 1.20%.

Cloud-networking company Megaport [ASX:MP1] jumped over 25% today as the latest quarterly report excited investors.

For the three months ending December 31, 2023, Megaport reported revenue up 5% quarter-on-quarter and 31% year-on-year to $48.6 million.

The company’s ARR rose 1% quarter-on-quarter to $1.9 million and 27% year-on-year to $191.7 million.

These gains saw the company’s profitability rise with a positive EBITDA of $12.7 million compared to 2Q FY23 EBITDA of $2.4 million on an annual basis.

The company’s free cash flow also got a nice boost, up 23% QoQ to $6.9 million for the quarter.

The latest retail data from the ABS was just released. It shows a steep reversal of retail sales data for December.

The previous unexpected jump and fall were probably due to an outsized impact from Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales through the October-November period as price-conscious consumers focused their spending on those deals.

Source: ABS

The data is still troubling for retailers as figures showed spending falling for all categories except food. Here is a breakdown from Economist Alex Joiner.

AU retail sales more than reverse the previous month's rise falling more than expected. Down across all major categories aside from food. pic.twitter.com/CP5Tf5FHQC

— Alex Joiner 🇦🇺 (@IFM_Economist) January 30, 2024

As Wall St continues its strong momentum in the face of earnings season, the ASX 200 is also nearing an all-time high today.

The ASX 200 is currently up by +0.63% at 7,626.2, just 2.7 points off the all-time high set on 13 August 2021.

The tech sector is the major performer today, with the sector up by +1.75%.

So far energy is the only sector trading in the red as oil prices fell overnight.

Importantly, five of the magnificent seven are reporting this week, including Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft.

These reports will largely steer the next movements of the market due to their sheer size.

While on Wednesday, we also have the Fed’s next interest rate decision, with most expecting it to remain on hold.

Good morning. Charlie here

The ASX 200 opened up +0.50% to 7,616.1, following strong earnings by technology stocks on Wall Street.

So far, 25% of the S&P 500 have reported earnings, with 69% so far reporting a positive EPS surprise.

Oil prices eased overnight, but the market is closely watching the US response after a deadly drone attack on a US camp in Jordan has raised tensions between Iran and the US.

Meanwhile, in China, the ailing stock market has continued its fall as property-developing giant Evergrande is ordered to liquidate in order to pay off its US$300 billion debts.

Wall Street: Dow +0.59%, Nasdaq +1.12%, S&P 500 +0.76%.

Overseas: FTSE flat, STOXX flat, Nikkei +0.77%, SSE -0.92%

The Aussie dollar rose +0.64% to US 66.12 cents.

US 10-year bond yields fell -6bps to 4.07%.

Australian 10-year bond yields fell -8bps to 4.15%.

Gold rose +0.50% to US$2,032.13. Silver gained +1.32% to US$23.20.

Bitcoin gained +3.07% to US$43,095, while Ethereum rose +2.76% to US$2,311.

Oil Brent fell -1.22% to US$82.53, while WTI Crude fell -1.32% to US$76.98.

Iron ore gained +1.3% to US$135.60 a tonne.