MARKET CONNECTION 31 MARCH 2021 H E A D L I N E S

AUSTRALIAN MARKET Australian shares had its worst session in over a ASX 200 ONE-YEAR CHART month on Tuesday as resource stocks weighed. News of a growing number of locally acquired coronavirus cases in Queensland also dampened sentiment. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.9% to 6,738.40 with energy (-1.6%), materials (-1.9%), and utilities (-1.8%) leading the losses on the benchmark index as most of the sectors finished lower. Iron ore miners BHP, Fortescue, and slid between 2.1–2.4%. Gold prices were at a two-week low sending Newcrest and Evolution down more than 1% each, while Northern Star lost nearly 4%. The ASX gold index 2.2% lower. A drop in oil prices weighed on the energy sector. Woodside slipped 1.1%. Meanwhile, Santos dropped 1.1% as it announced it will proceed with the US$3.6 billion gas and condensate project located offshore the Northern Territory as well as the start of a US$600 million investment in the Darwin LNG life extension and pipeline tie-in projects. In the utility sector, AGL (-3.5%) retreated as it revealed its intention to create two leading energy business via a structural separation. New AGL will include the company’s retail division, while PrimeCo would be the country’s largest electricity generator. The company also separately announced it lost its bid to build the $240 million Crib Point floating gas terminal in Victoria. Over in financials (-0.4%), the major lenders had a mixed finish; CBA slipped 0.2%, while ANZ and added 0.4% and 0.1% respectively. NAB underperformed with a decline of 0.8%. The local tech sector was unchanged during the session as (2.2%) and Wisetech (2%) helped offset a 0.5% drop in Afterpay. Elsewhere, travel stocks , , and eased more than 1% each as more COVID- 19 cases were reported in Queensland. On to data, the weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index rose 1.7% to 112.3 (long run average: 112.6). Data from the ABS showed that payroll jobs rose 0.2% between the weeks ending 27 February and 13 March 2021, Total wages were down 1% over the same period.

EUROPEAN MARKETS European shares rallied towards record highs on STOXX 600 ONE-YEAR CHART Tuesday. The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.7% to 430.65 with a 3.1% jump in autos leading the advance, while bank stocks rebounded with a 2% improvement. Germany’s DAX jumped 1.3% to 15,008.61, while the UK’s FTSE 100 added 0.5% to 6,772.12. In individual stock news, Swiss lender Credit Suisse slid 3.1% during session, following a near-14% slide the day before where it warned of significant material losses after Archegos Capital defaulted on margin calls. Meanwhile, Siemens Gamesa (5.8%) advanced after the renewables company signed a deal with Spanish energy company Repsol to install four wind farms. Broker ratings also contributed to individual share price action; Italian luxury fashion company Moncler (2.3%) and Swiss watch group Swatch (2.5%) rose after receiving upgrades to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank. British polymer company Victrex climbed 5.2% after Citigroup raised its price target on the stock and as Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the stock to ‘outperform’. In the way of data, euro zone consumer sentiment improved from 93.4 to 101 this month (forecast: 96). In Germany, preliminary data on consumer prices showed a 1.7% annual rise in March, as expected. Consumer prices, harmonised to make them comparable with inflation data from other European Union countries, rose by 2%, also matching expectations

US MARKETS Wall Street settled lower on Tuesday as rising DOW JONES ONE-YEAR CHART Treasury yields pressured technology shares. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 1.77%, hitting its highest level in 14 months as vaccine rollouts and expected infrastructure spending boosted the outlook for a broad economic recovery and rising inflation. The benchmark rate later eased to 1.72%. The S&P 500 eased 0.3% to 3,958.55 with eight of the 11 major sectors finishing in the red, led by consumer staples (-1.1%) and tech (-1%). Industrials (0.4%), financials (0.7%), and consumer discretionary (0.8%) stocks helped keep the losses in check. The Dow dropped 0.3% to 33,066.96. Apple (-1.2%) and Microsoft (-1.4%) were among the biggest decliners on the industrial index. The Nasdaq slipped 0.1% to 13,045.40. Elsewhere, ViacomCBS (3.6%) and Discovery (5.4%) both bounced back following last week’s wave of block trades associated with the forced liquidation of positions held by Archegos Capital Management. Relatedly, Wells Fargo (2.5%) rose after the lender said it no longer had any exposure to the hedge fund and did not experience any losses. Peers Bank of America (1.8%), JPMorgan (1.2%), and Goldman Sachs (2%) also firmed. On the data front, the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index rose 1% in January (forecast: 1.2%).

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The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index soared 11.1% in January compared to a year earlier, its fastest pace in 15 years. The Conference Board’s climbed from 90.4 to 109.7 this month, its largest increase since April 2003 (forecast: 96.9).

TOP 5 S&P/ASX200 MOVERS

3.23% 4.00% 2.91% 2.82% 2.20% 1.99% 2.00%

0.00% SPK MP1 AIA XRO WTC BKL NIC SLR RSG PBH -2.00%

-4.00%

-6.00% -5.25% -5.26% -5.59%

-8.00% -7.69% -10.00% -9.25%

MARKET DATA

INDICES CLOSE CHANGE FX CLOSE CHANGE COMMODITIES PRICE (US$) CHANGE BONDS RATES ASX 200 6,738.40 -0.90% AUD/USD 0.7597 -0.43% GOLD (OZ) $1,684.72 -1.59% AU 2 YEAR 0.07 ASX FUTURES 6,766.00 0.83% AUD/NZD 1.0880 -0.25% SILVER (OZ) $23.99 -2.76% AU 5 YEAR 0.88 DOW JONES 33,066.96 -0.31% AUD/EUR 0.6483 -0.01% PLATINUM (OZ) $1,154.00 -1.83% AU 10 YEAR 1.77 S&P 500 3,958.55 -0.32% AUD/GBP 0.5529 -0.24% BRENT CRUDE (BBL) $64.05 -1.43% AU 15 YEAR 2.12 FTSE 100 6,772.12 0.53% AUD/JPY 83.8410 0.03% WTI CRUDE (BBL) $60.27 -0.45% US 2 YEAR 0.15 NIKKEI 225 29,432.70 0.16% EUR/USD 1.1717 -0.42% NATURAL GAS (MMBtu) $2.62 -1.24% US 5 YEAR 0.90 HANG SENG 28,577.50 0.84% GBP/USD 1.3738 -0.17% COPPER (LB) $3.99 -1.34% US 10 YEAR 1.70 VIX 19.61 -5.45% USD/JPY 110.3600 0.50% IRON ORE (MT) $166.58 -0.80% US 30 YEAR 2.37

as at approx. 9:48 am

WEEKLY ECONOMIC CALENDAR

WEDNESDAY 31ST MAR - AU – Building Permits MoM Prel (FEB), Private Sector Credit MoM (FEB) WEDNESDAY 31ST MAR - CHN – NBS Manufacturing PMI (MAR), Non-Manufacturing PMI (MAR) WEDNESDAY 31ST MAR - EU – Core Inflation Rate YoY Flash (MAR) WEDNESDAY 31ST MAR - US – MBA Mortgage Applications (26/MAR), ADP Employment Change (MAR), Chicago PMI (MAR) THURSDAY 1ST APR - AU – Ai Group, Markit Manufacturing Index (MAR), Balance of Trade, Retail Sales MoM Final (FEB) THURSDAY 1ST APR - EU – Markit Manufacturing Index (MAR) THURSDAY 1ST APR - US – Challenger Job Cuts (MAR), Initial Jobless Claims (27/MAR) ISM, Manufacturing PMI (MAR) FRIDAY 2ND APR - US – Unemployment Rate (MAR), ISM New York Index (MAR) MONDAY 5TH APR - AU – TD-MI Inflation Gauge MoM (MAR) MONDAY 5TH APR - US – Factory Orders MoM (FEB), ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI (MAR) TUESDAY 6TH APR - AU – ANZ Job Advertisements MoM (MAR), RBA Interest Rate Decision TUESDAY 6TH APR - CHN – Caixin Composite PMI (MAR), Caixin Services PMI (MAR) TUESDAY 6TH APR - EU – Unemployment Rate (FEB) TUESDAY 6TH APR - US – JOLTs Job Openings (FEB)

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TODAY’S CORPORATE ACTIONS

AP2HA NEW LISTING: [AP2HA] AP2HB NEW LISTING: [AP2HB] AP2HC NEW LISTING: [AP2HC] APE QUOTED: Ex Dividend BNONA NEW LISTING: [BNONA] BIONOMICS DEF FTZNA NEW LISTING: [FTZNA] FERTOZ DEF HVN QUOTED: Ex Dividend MOT QUOTED: Ex Dividend MXT QUOTED: Ex Dividend PGD NEW LISTING: [PGD] PEREGOLD FPO PGDO NEW LISTING: [PGDO] PEREGOLD OPT DEC23 PGG QUOTED: Ex Dividend RCB QUOTED: Ex Dividend RDV QUOTED: Ex Dividend RGB QUOTED: Ex Dividend SELF QUOTED: Ex Dividend STA QUOTED: Ex Entitlement SXY CHANGE OF DESC: SENEX DEF SET NEW: SENEX FPO SXY QUOTED: Ex Dividend ZYAU QUOTED: Ex Dividend ZYUS QUOTED: Ex Dividend

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