Weekly ASX Share Trading Wrap Up
Rene Anthony
Local stocks chalked up their fourth consecutive week of gains last week, with the ASX 200 rising 1.9% to close on 5487.5 points. The prospect that parts of the US economy might begin to open as early as next month gave investors some reason to be optimistic, as did the fact that the majority of economic data fell in line with expectations rather than some of the worst-case scenarios forecast. Rounding out the week, the market also latched onto positive early-stage news regarding a potential COVID-19 treatment.
Which shares excelled?
Leading the way was Afterpay (ASX: APT), with the stock soaring 31.8% across the shortened trading week. The sharp move higher came in the wake of a business update from the BNPL juggernaut, with many of its performance metrics including underlying sales maintaining their strong growth. While some anticipate the impact of the Coronavirus will only begin to reverberate on consumer spending and debt in coming quarters, the company remains upbeat on its ability to reach a forecast 9.5 million active customers by June, despite formally withdrawing said guidance.Air New Zealand (ASX: AIZ) recorded a big jump last week, although the company share price movement came from a lower market cap. Nonetheless, the stock climbed 42.9% with some investors touting the stock as a long-term bargain, and renewed optimism weighing in on account of New Zealand handling of the pandemic so far.Diagnostics imaging company Healius (ASX: HLS) raced ahead last week, spiking higher by 20.5%. A trading update by the company alleviated the concerns of shareholders who feared the business was seeing a greater downturn, however, telehealth consultations have helped the company soften the blow to its operations.While the price of gold settled close to where it started the week, the precious metal mid-week rally acted as a tailwind for several gold miners. This included the likes of OceanaGold (ASX: OGC), Silver Lake Resources (ASX: SLR) and Gold Road Resources (ASX: GOR), which all saw their share prices climb by approximately 15%.Elsewhere, there were strong moves by names like Boral (ASX: BLD), up 8.1%, Transurban Group (ASX: TCL), up 7.3%, Bapcor (ASX: BAP), up 9.9%, Carsales (ASX: CAR), up 10.9%, Star Entertainment Group (ASX: SGR), up 8.3%, and Sydney Airport (ASX: SYD), up 9.8%. At the smaller end of the market, focusing on micro-cap shares, there were more than 25 stocks that doubled in price or more over the last 5 trading sessions, including newly-listed Atomo Diagnostics (ASX: AT1), which skyrocketed 160% on its ipo debut.
Which shares dragged on the market?
Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) struggled to find support last week, with the share price resuming its downtrend after a three week period where it rallied as much as 50% from its multi-year low. On the back of its latest quarterly report, one prominent Australian broker took an axe to its forecast for the company, citing concerns that Whitehaven Coal may miss its production guidance. The broker ultimately downgraded the stock, which sent shareholders to the exits. WHC shares sank 10.7%.The stock price of Coca-Cola Amatil (ASX: CCL) fell 8.3% on the back of the beverage company latest trading update. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the business has seen a large deterioration in demand for its products, leading to a notable reduction in sales.Global asset management group Janus Henderson (ASX: JHG) shed 6.1% of its market cap last week, even though the company released no price-sensitive news to the market. One possible explanation, in light of many investors buying into the recent market-wide rally, could be that investors are readjusting their portfolios for more exposure to growth stocks. Alternatively, some JHG holders may be conscious of the company upcoming first-quarter results and the likelihood of fund outflows.Weaker oil prices weighed on Santos (ASX: STO) shares, which were lower by 6.9%, while Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX: URW) and Nine Entertainment Co (ASX: NEC) saw their valuations decrease by 8% and 5.7% respectively.
This week trading outlook
US markets closed strongly higher during Friday evening trading session, however, these gains were effectively taken into consideration by the local market earlier in the day while the ASX was trading. As such, ASX futures are suggesting a flat open when trading kicks off Monday morning, although the latest government updates both locally and in the US stand to shape this.The most prominent economic data in the week ahead is likely to come out of the USA, with home sales, jobless claims, manufacturing PMI and durable goods orders on the agenda. However, one thing that could have a bigger impact is the latest results from US earnings season, with the likes of Netflix, IBM, American Express and Coca-Cola just some of the stocks that will hand down results.With the price of oil seeing further weakness leading into the weekend, shares like Oil Search (ASX: OSH) may be in the spotlight, with trading volatility likely. Also likely to see movement, albeit for different reasons, are health stocks leveraged to elective surgery and IVF, as the government has indicated restrictions borne by the Coronavirus may soon be lifted.Shares in Washington H. Soul Pattinson (ASX: SOL) are expected to trade ex-dividend on Wednesday, with a fully franked dividend of $0.25 set aside for shareholders.AML3D (ASX: AL3) is making its ipo debut on Monday morning, with the large-scale 3D metal printing business recently securing $9 million in funds from investors.After Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) delivered its first-quarter results last week to a positive response, attention will turn towards BHP (ASX: BHP), which will provide its own update on Tuesday morning.Last but not least, having managed to retain its status as one of the most resilient companies on the ASX, A2 Milk (ASX: A2M) may be on watch yet again, with its shares reaching a new all-time high and up by 30.9% since the end of January.
We'll be back next week with another Weekly ASX Trading Wrap Up - until then, have a great week!
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