BPO TV

Market wraps 26th August 2021

Morning Bell - Paulina Peters

US stocks extended their rally with both the S&P500 and Nasdaq closing higher for the fifth straight session. The gains were supported by the US 10-year Treasury yield edging higher.

Despite the US pushing higher, if you go by the SPI futures, it’s suggesting that the Aussie share market will open slightly lower.

Stay tuned, later today we will be releasing a full report on The a2 Milk Company (ASX:A2M) and Woolworths (ASX:WOW)’s results.

What to watch today:

  • It’s another big day of earnings season for Aussie shares. Investors will be digesting the results from companies including Appen (ASX:APX). Bell Potter expects NPAT to come in at US$11.1m. A few travel companies will report today, including Qantas (ASX:QAN), Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) & Air New Zealand (ASX:AIZ). Bell Potter are expecting Qantas to report a huge loss of $1.226 billion. Consensus is even more bearish, expecting a loss of $1.324 billion.
  • Other companies reporting today: Atlas Arteria (ASX:ALX), Blackmores (ASX:BKL), Costa Group Holdings (ASX:CGC), IOOF Holdings (ASX:IFL), Jumbo Interactive (ASX:JIN), Ramsay Health Care (ASX:RHC), St Barbara (ASX:SBM) and Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC). 
  • One of the most traded stocks yesterday by Bell Direct clients was Flight Centre (ASX:FLT). Its share price lifted 7.4% yesterday, as investors eyed easing restrictions as vaccination numbers surge.
  • The oil price rose on US fuel demand. US government data showed that fuel demand climbed to its highest level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The gold price fell, further below the US$1,800 level as the dollar pushed higher and investors focused on the Fed’s verdict coming up this week.

Trading ideas:

  • Bell Potter has maintained its BUY recommendation on software and services business Infomedia (ASX:IFM) and has increased its price target by 14% to $2 (previously $1.75). This is off the back of Infomedia releasing its financial year 2021 results ahead of Bell Potter’s forecast and the guidance. IFM lifted 4.9% yesterday to $1.71, which implies about 17% share price growth.
  • Bullish charting signals have been identified in The a2 Milk Company (ASX:A2M), Fletcher Building (ASX:FBU) and Element 25 (ASX:E25) according to Trading Central.