The S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is likely to edge higher when the market opens on Wednesday according to the latest SPI futures. Here’s your daily ASX morning report.
RBA juices the economy with Quantitative Easing (QE)
Whilst a lower volume day for the market with the Melbourne Cup Day public holiday, the ASX 200 didn’t disappoint finishing 1.9% higher after the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate cut announcement.
There were winners across the board, nine out of 10 companies closing higher along with every sector. But energy (+5.3%) was the highlight, with Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) shares adding 5.5% after signs of a slowdown in supply may support prices in the medium term.
ASX travel shares similarly benefitted after Victoria reported a fourth straight day of zero community transmission and cases of COVID-19. Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) was the leader, up 8.7%, with hope that the Queensland border may fall in the coming weeks.
Shipping pallet provider Brambles Limited (ASX: BXB) added 5.7% after upgrading its profit outlook for the year, to between 3% and 5% growth, from 0% earlier this year. The company reported a 5% increase in sales to $1.19 billion for the first quarter, with the Americas the highlight, growing 7%.
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What the RBA announcement means
The economists seem to have predicted correctly this time around, with the RBA announcing three new measures as they seek to support an economic recovery.
The first was a cut in the overnight cash rate from 0.25% to 0.1%, the second a reduction in the ‘target’ yield on three-year Australian government bonds to 0.1% and finally, $100 billion in bond purchases, or quantitative easing (QE) to occur over the next six months.
What does this mean for the economy and investors?
Firstly, it means mortgage and term deposit rates will be lowered from the ~2.5% (and 1% for term deposits) rates on offer at present and hopefully push more savers to spend or invest more money in the economy.
Secondly, it reduces the cost of borrowing for every type of business in Australia, with most business loans using the three, five or 10-year government bond yield as their starting point for the interest rates they charge.
Thirdly, it reduces the attractiveness of Australian government bonds and their 0.8% interest rates (compared to negative in Europe) to foreign investors and hopefully allows the AUD to depreciate.
Finally, the actual purchases of bonds will be made from banks and other financial institutions, offering them capital gains by effectively forcing them to seek more productive, higher returning investments. All three of these measures clearly seek to stimulate growth and the flow of credit in the economy.
Paul Keating was quick to offer a statement highlighting that “the Reserve Bank has arisen from its monetary slumber and its long, fruitless search for the inflation dragon”. It is definitely a positive sign for the economy in the short-to-medium term.
Paypal (NASDAQ:PYPL) sold off as US markets positive ahead of Election
The US, in fact all global markets, rallied ahead of the US Presidential Election, which goes live at 11 am today.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 were both trading 1.6% higher at the time of writing with the capital flows mixed. On the one hand, energy continues to rally, which would be a key winner if Trump is re-elected, on the other hand, Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) added over 5% as a key beneficiary of Biden’s ‘Green New Deal’ and focus on renewable energy. Either way, it will be a positive day for the ASX.
At the company-specific level, the ANT Financial IPO was unexpectedly pulled overnight after the Chinese Communist Government stepped in to place additional restrictions and regulations on the company. Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), which owns 30% of the company, fell around 8% in US trade.
PayPal or PYPL reported quarterly earnings with the group hitting an annualised transaction value of $1 trillion due to the e-commerce boom during COVID-19. Management announced 15.2 million accounts were created during the quarter sending revenue 25% higher to $5.5 billion and earnings up 41%.