ASX 200 afternoon report: 26 March 2024

The ASX 200 trades 31 points (-0.40%) lower at 7780 at 3.10pm AEDT.

After falling nine points short of its 7853-record high yesterday, the ASX 200 has slipped back below 7800 today, following losses on Wall Street overnight.

However, with end-of-the-month and end-of-the-quarter rebalancing flows likely to hit the market ahead of the Easter long weekend, the ASX 200 could still see a fresh all-time high this week.

Furthermore, if the ASX 200 doesn't end this month below 7699, the local bourse will lock in a fifth consecutive month of gains—still with some work to do if it's to challenge the eleven straight months of gains the ASX 200 recorded during its rebound from the Covid Crash low.

Upcoming economic data

Kicking off this week's trifecta of local economic data, the Westpac Consumer Confidence sentiment index fell 1.8% to 84.4 in March, easing from a 20-month high on concerns around the economic outlook and family finances.

Likely to further inflame those concerns, tomorrow's Monthly CPI indicator for February is expected to rise by 3.6% YoY from 3.4% due to higher petrol and housing prices and the unwinding of electricity rebates.

ASX 200 stocks

IT sector

Fresh from yesterday's 28-month high, the ASX 200 IT sector has fallen today on profit taking.

• Novonix: - 3.93% to $0.85c
• Appen: -3.2% to $0.60c
• Xero: -2.9% to $133.13
• Seek: -2.45%

Iron ore sectors

• Mineral Resources: -3.7% to $67.10
• Fortescue: - 1.25% to $25.18
• BHP: - 0.63% to $43.60
• Rio Tinto: - 0.07% to $121.52

Uranium stocks

• Bannerman Energy: -2.86% to $3.56
• Boss Energy: -2.24% to $4.80
• Deep Yellow: - 1.65% to $1.34
• Silex Systems: -1.45% to $4.76

Banking sector

• Macquarie: + 0.06% to $197.60
• CBA: +0.06% to $118.86
• Westpac: -0.8% to $26.23
• ANZ: -0.45% to $29.02
• NAB: - 0.32% to $34.45

Energy stocks

Providing some support for the index, energy stocks have gained as the price of crude oil increased by 1.6% overnight to $82.00. The overnight gains in oil came after Russia ordered companies to cut output in line with its production commitments to OPEC and as Ukraine's attacks on Russian energy infrastructure look set to continue.

• Beach Energy hit a 15-month high of $1.84
• Viva Energy: +1.78% to $3.72
• Woodside Energy: +1.4% to $30.50
• Santos: + 0.73% to $7.63

ASX 200 technical analysis

After a wobble in mid-March, the ASX 200 has steadied and remains on track to test the all-time high of 7853 before a push towards 7950. Only a sustained break of uptrend support at 7650 would negate this view.

ASX 200 daily chart

• ^{Source: TradingView. The figures stated are as of 26 March 2024. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This report does not contain and is not to be taken as containing any financial product advice or financial product recommendation.}