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Buybacks boom but investors see a downside

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Original article by Cecile Lefort
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 24-Sep-25

Recent data from MST Marquee showed that a record 47 companies in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 have announced plans for share buybacks this year; this compares with just 10 in 2020. However, analysis shows that there has been a decline in the share prices of seven out of 12 companies that undertook buybacks in late 2024. Luke McMillan from Ophir Asset Management says buybacks can be a better option than dividends for returning excess cash to shareholders, given that they expect dividends to increase each year.

CORPORATES
MST MARQUEE, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, OPHIR ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Boards woo investors with ASX buybacks

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 20-Aug-25

Analysis by MST Marquee shows that most Australian-listed companies that announce buybacks tend to outperform the broader sharemarket by an average of 10 per cent in the following 12 months. Twelve listed companies have revealed plans to repurchase some $5bn worth of their shares so far in the current reporting season; this compares with the 10 companies that announced just $2.8bn worth of buybacks during the August 2024 reporting season. The growing trend towards buybacks has coincided with an overall decline in the dividend payouts of listed companies.

CORPORATES
MST MARQUEE

ASX rotation could see CBA investors jump on mining train

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 2-Jul-25

S&P/ASX 200 bank stocks gained 26 per cent during the 2024-25 financial year, while the resources sector fell eight per cent. However, some analysts believe that investors are set to shift from banks to resources stocks in 2025-26, amid speculation that the Commonwealth Bank’s outperformance will not be sustained. The stock gained 45 per cent in 2024-25, with its share of the benchmark index rising from nine per cent to nearly 12 per cent.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

ASX winners and losers for 2025 revealed

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 1-Jul-25

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 10.2 per cent in the 2024-25 financial year, posting its biggest annual gain since 2021. Ship builder Austal tops the list of best-performing stocks for 2024-25, rising by 152 per cent; it is followed by gold producers Regis Resources (up 150 per cent) and Genesis Minerals (145 per cent). Meanwhile, IDP Education recorded the biggest loss among the top-200 stocks, shedding 76 per cent; other major underperformers included Mineral Resources (down 60 per cent) and Pilbara Minerals (57 per cent). The ASX 200 ended the financial year at 8,542.3 points, and Shane Oliver from AMP says it could potentially rise to around the 8,700-point level by the end of 2025.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AUSTAL LIMITED – ASX ASB, REGIS RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RRL, GENESIS MINERALS LIMITED – ASX GMD, IDP EDUCATION LIMITED – ASX IEL, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX PLS, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

Couples need $73,875 a year in retirement

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Original article by Anthony Keane
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 18-Jun-25

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia’s modelling suggests that a couple who own their home now requires annual income of to live comfortably in retirement. The figure for a single person who owns their home is $52,383. The analysis also shows that the cost of a comfortable retirement increased by 1.6 per cent in the year to March, compared with the inflation rate of 2.4 per cent. ASFA CEO Mary Delahunty says retirees are starting to benefit from a slowdown in inflation, although she notes that the prices of essentials are still rising.

CORPORATES
THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

The stocks that have ripped during Trump’s trade war

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 8-May-25

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index has gained 11.4 per cent since it entered correction territory in the days after the Trump administration unveiled its tarrifs regime on 2 April. Uranium producer Boss Energy is amongst the stocks that have posted strong gains since the ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs announcement; it has risen by more than 47 per cent since the start of April, although the stock is still 30 per cent lower than a year ago. Other strong performers include Eagers Automotive (up 24.8 per cent since the start of April), NextDC (21.2 per cent), Pro Medicus (20.6 per cent) and Lynas Rare Earths (20.5 per cent).

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, BOSS ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BOE, EAGERS AUTOMOTIVE LIMITED – ASX APE, NEXTDC LIMITED – ASX NXT, PRO MEDICUS LIMITED – ASX PME, LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC

Investors pile into ASX amid Wall Street exodus

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 30-Apr-25

Australian-listed companies have benefited from a global shift of capital away from Wall Street in 2025, amid the turmoil caused by the Trump administration’s trade policies. Foreign investors owned a record 18 per cent of US stocks at the start of the year. However, Goldman Sachs estimates that foreign investors have sold $US60bn ($93.2bn) worth of US shares in recent weeks. Elise McKay from Pendal says this trend may have contributed to the S&P/ASX 20’s outperformance last week; it gained 2.5 per cent, while the benchmark ASX 200 rose by just 1.9 per cent.

CORPORATES
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, PENDAL GROUP LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 20 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

Bitcoin emerges from bear market as traders tip $US125K

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 29-Apr-25

The price of bitcoin rose by 12 per cent last week, compared with a 6.7 per cent gain for the Nasdaq. The cryptocurrency recorded its largest weekly rise since shortly after Donald Trump won the US presidential election in November. It subsequently peaked at around $US109,000 following his inauguration in late January, before falling sharply in response to the tariffs-induced trade war. Tony Sycamore from IG believes that bitcoin could test its record level again, adding that there is potential for it to rise to around $US125,000.

CORPORATES
IG MARKETS LIMITED, NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX

ASX faces bear market as profit recession looms

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 23-Apr-25

The S&P/ASX 200 Index has shed more than nine per cent since reaching a record high in mid-February. MST Marquee believes that the local bourse is set for a further decline; senior research analyst Hasan Tevfik says both corporate profits and economic growth are set to fall. The general consenus of market watchers is that companies in the ASX 200 will record earnings growth of about nine per cent in 2025-26, but MST anticipates a modest earnings contraction; this in turn will result in an earnings-per-share recession. Tevfik notes that Australia has experienced a bear market in each of the last six such recessions.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, MST MARQUEE

ASX’s $42b plunge seals worst start in years

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 1-Apr-25

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 shed 3.9 per cent during the first quarter of 2025; this represents the local bourse’s worst start to a calendar year since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. However, Australian equities have outperformed Wall Street, with the S&P 500 having shed 5.1 per cent in the first quarter and 6.3 per cent in the month of March. Meanwhile, Matthew Sherwood from Perpetual estimates that the chances of a recession is now more than 30 per cent, adding that the Trump’s administration’s impending tariff reforms will be a key driver of the global economic outlook in the near-term.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT