K: Financial and Insurance Services

China panic sparks share-selling frenzy

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 8-Jan-16

The Australian sharemarket lost ground on 7 January 2016, with the S&P/ASX 200 shedding 2.2 per cent to close at 5,010.3. The bearish sentiment was prompted by factors such as lower-than-expected building approvals data, further moves by China to devalue the yuan and the Brent crude oil price’s fall to an 11-year low. The Commonwealth Bank was 2.1 per cent lower at $A80.41 and BHP Billiton eased 4.8 per cent to end the session at $A16.33. Santos was down 7.4 per cent at $A3.25 and Telstra fell by 1.5 per cent to finish at $A5.32.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, SPOTLESS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SPO, RUSSELL INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, PEOPLE’S BANK OF CHINA, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, HANG SENG INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, STRAITS TIMES INDEX, CSI 300 INDEX

Biotech index outperformance in 2015 points to opportunities

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 8-Jan-16

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index shed 2.7 per cent during 2015. However, an index of 40 biotechnology companies which was compiled by "Biotech Daily" gained 22 per cent. ImpediMed, Opthea, Nanosonics, Starpharma and Mesoblast are among the biotechnology stocks that could potentially perform well in 2016.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BIOTECH DAILY, IMPEDIMED LIMITED – ASX IPD, OPTHEA LIMITED – ASX OPT, NANOSONICS LIMITED – ASX NAN, STARPHARMA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SPL, MESOBLAST LIMITED – ASX MSB, HATCHTECH PTY LTD, SPINIFEX PHARMACEUTICALS PTY LTD, FIBROTECH THERAPEUTICS PTY LTD, QRXPHARMA LIMITED – ASX QRX, OSPREY MEDICAL INCORPORATED – ASX OSP, GI DYNAMICS INCORPORATED – ASX GID, CANACCORD GENUITY (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, RESMED INCORPORATED – ASX RMD

ASX loses $50b in new year rout

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Jan-16

A move by the People’s Bank of China to devalue the renminbi by 0.22 per cent weighed on the Australian sharemarket on 6 January 2016. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index fell by around 1.2 per cent. It has now shed 3.3 per cent in the year to date, reducing the local sharemarket’s capitalisation by $A50bn. Global investor sentiment in 2016 has also been hit by factors such as concerns about the economic outlook for China, weak commodity prices and North Korea’s detonation of a hydrogen bomb.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, PEOPLE’S BANK OF CHINA, PEAK ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, HSBC BANK PLC, SOCIETE GENERALE, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, BLOOMBERG LP

Bull market not dead yet, says Citi

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 7-Jan-16

Citigroup is upbeat about the outlook for international shares in 2016, forecasting that global equities will gain 12 per cent. However, the investment bank says the Federal Reserve’s recent move to begin tightening monetary policy means other sharemarkets may offer more value for investors than US equities, particularly stocks in Japan and continental Europe. Citigroup also forecasts that Australia will record GDP growth of 2.75 per cent in 2016.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Investors downbeat on ASX growth prospects

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 6-Jan-16

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index shed 1.3 per cent in 2015, and a survey by Investment Trends shows that investors expect the sharemarket to rise by less than five per cent in 2016. King Loong Choi of Investment Trends notes that investor sentiment is being affected by factors such as low interest rates, sharemarket volatility, the slowing Australian economy and the uncertain outlook for the Chinese economy.

CORPORATES
INVESTMENT TRENDS PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, GEM CAPITAL FINANCIAL ADVICE, HENDERSON GROUP PLC – ASX HGG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence increases to 116.3 to start 2016

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Jan-16

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia rose by 0.8 per cent to 116.3 in the week ended 3 January 2016. This reverses the fall seen in the last survey conducted in mid-December, leaving confidence above its long run average (+3.2 per cent). Consumers’ views towards their current finances have risen by 6.4 per cent in the last week, leaving the sub-index at its strongest level in the history of the weekly survey (which started in October 2008). However, consumers’ views towards their financial situation in the next 12 months fell by 1.4 per cent.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Deals boom set to gain new steam

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 18 : 4-Jan-16

Dealogic notes that some $US129.8bn ($A177.7bn) worth of mergers and acquisitions were announced in Australia during 2015. However, the value of completed deals fell from $US101.2bn to $US97.4bn. Tim Joyce of Macquarie Capital expects M&A activity to increase in 2016, while Aidan Allen of Citigroup anticipates that the retail sector will be among those to be targeted in 2016. He also expects more takeover activity among private equity firms.

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, SCEPTER PARTNERS, TRANSGRID, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, BROOKFIELD INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS LP, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB

Forget the index, it’ll be a picker’s game

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Vanessa Desloires, Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 4-Jan-16

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index ended 2015 at 5,295.9 points. Goldman Sachs forecasts that it will rise to 5,600 in 2016, and Citi expects it to reach 5,900. Meanwhile, David Bryant of Australian Unity says factors such as low interest rates and sustained weakness in commodity prices will weigh on sharemarket returns in 2016. Bryant is particularly bearish about returns from resources and banking stocks.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, AUSTRALIAN UNITY LIMITED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, PRIME VALUE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED

Resources stocks have huge interest, among their few fans

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 12 : 4-Jan-16

Garth Rossler of Maple-Brown Abbott says resources stocks could perform well in 2016 after a challenging year for the sector in 2015. Meanwhile, Randal Jenneke of T Rowe Price recently warned that the high yields from infrastructure and property stocks may not be sustainable. He says such stocks are likely to be impacted if the US Federal Reserve adopts an aggressive approach to increasing interest rates.

CORPORATES
MAPLE-BROWN ABBOTT LIMITED, T ROWE PRICE GROUP INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

CBA’s heavily traded shares look to tip BHP from perch

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 60 : 23-Dec-15

Turnover in the Commonwealth Bank’s shares has totalled $A64.94bn so far in 2015, and the banking major seems poised to claim the title of the most heavily-traded stock by value for the year. BHP Billiton held this title for the previous five years, but just $A56.88bn worth of its shares have changed hands in the year to date, compared with $A152.9bn in 2010. BHP’s shares have fallen sharply in 2015, due to factors such as the downturn in commodity prices and the tailings dam disaster in Brazil.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32