The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO) price fell on Monday following a weak lead from global markets and ahead of the RBA’s interest rate decision today. The All Ords and ASX 200 opened the first week of June with a 0.5 per cent fall. The S&P/ASX 200, ASX 300 and similar Australian shares indices are tracked by ETFs like BetaShares Australia 200 (ASX: A200), Vanguard Australian Shares ETF (ASX: VAS) and iShares ASX 200 Core ETF (ASX: IOZ).
The Aussie share market was a market full of lowlights, with the industrials, technology and materials sectors all falling by more than 1 per cent, dragged down by previously popular growth names including Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) and Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB), which fell 8.4 and 3.0 per cent, respectively.
Once again, the highlights are coming from the energy sector, which gained 2.1 per cent, with Cooper Energy (ASX: COE) a standout. The COE share price jumped 7.4 per cent after the company revised production and sales volume towards the higher end of previous guidance and now expected as much as a 30 per cent jump in earnings for the financial year given surging wholesale gas prices.
Meanwhile, the Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK) share price continued to trade at a 20 per cent discount to its takeover offer from UK leader Dye & Durham, with the competition regulator placing more pressure on the Link share price after delaying the release of its decision on the transaction.
Magellan, Platinum out of the index, FUM falls, Tabcorp settles suit, NAB launches new hybrid
The Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) share price fell another 13.9 per cent on Monday, with many pointing to the marginal fall in assets under management of $3.6 billion, taking the total to $65 billion at the end of May.
However, Magellan were actually cut from the S&P/ASX 100 benchmark on Friday afternoon, which may well have caused index funds to bring forward their sale of the business. It was a similar story for Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM), which fell 2.8 per cent after being cut from the S&P/ASX 200 and nearing ‘small company’ status.
Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (ASX: TAH) shares were the standout, with the now separated gambling group rallying 5.3 per cent on news that had settled a lawsuit with the Queensland government. Tabcorp agreed to pay $150 million to the state’s racing body. The suit related to the underpayment of taxes charged on gambling dollars, but resulted in the state bringing the conditions of TAH into line with those of other online-only groups, allowing a level playing field.
Finally, the National Australia Bank (ASX: NAB) has launched a $1 billion capital note, or hybrid, priced between 3.15 and 3.35 per cent with no less than nine brokers on the deal.
US market pares gains despite China recovery, solar stocks surge
All three US stock market benchmarks rallied strongly on Monday, but pared gains to close the session with the Nasdaq outperforming, gaining 0.4 per cent. The S&P500 gained 0.3 per cent and the Dow Jones 0.1 per cent as nearly all 30 of the Dow’s constituent companies finished higher.
COVID-19 cases in China continued to fall, offering hope for a global economic recovery. Meanwhile, DiDi Global (NYSE: DID) stock jumped 24 per cent after the Chinese Government confirmed it would be finishing its ‘security’ checks, spurring hope that regulatory pressures would ease on tech giants.
Solar companies including SolarEdge (NYSE: SEDH) and SunPower (NYSE: SPWR) gained after US President Joe Biden announced he would not impose any new tariffs on imports of solar panels for at least two years. Shares in Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) remain flat as Elon Musk negotiates for a better price and accuses the board of refusing to provide information on the number of fake accounts on the platform. Finally, Amazon (NYSE: AMZN) gained more than 1 per cent after completing its 20-to-1 stock split overnight.
