ASX 200 afternoon report: 20 June 2024

The ASX 200 trades 12 points (-0.15%) lower at 7758 at 2.30pm AEST.

The ASX 200 has drifted lower today, lacking the positive influence of US equity markets, which were closed overnight for the Juneteenth holiday.

Year-to-date performance

With six trading days left until the halfway mark of 2024, the ASX 200 has gained only 2.30% this year, while the US NASDAQ 100 has surged 18.31% in the same period, boosted by substantial gains in tech shares like NVIDIA, which has surged an incredible 173.78% this year.

Guzman y Gomez debuts on ASX

Guzman y Gomez's debut on the ASX was the highlight of an otherwise quiet day. Its share price opened at $30.00 – $8.00 above the initial public offering (IPO) price of $22.00. At $30.00, the company is valued at $3 billion, which puts it on a mind-boggling price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 500x.

Helia rebounds strongly and DroneShield faces impressive gains

Helia, yesterday's biggest loser, has turned the tables today, emerging as the biggest winner. Its share price has surged by a significant 15.57% to $3.86, following a favourable upgrade from a prominent Australian broker. The broker's positive outlook is based on the belief that Helia will likely retain the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA) mortgage insurance business and gain Bankwest's, which is currently with QBE.

DroneShield, the counter-drone technology company, continues bringing good news to its shareholders. Today, it announced a significant contract win from a new customer and anticipated further substantial orders from the same customer. As a result, DroneShield's share price is now trading at $1.65, a remarkable 82% increase from just four weeks ago.

ASX 200 stocks

Banking sector

It's been a mixed day for the big banks after the ASX 200 financial sector hit a fresh seventeen-year high earlier this week.

• CBA gained 0.56% to $127.65
• Westpac added 0.18% to $27.17
• CBA fell 1.15% to $195.53
• NAB lost 0.14% to $36.12
• ANZ fell 0.14% to $29.09

Materials sector

The materials sector remains unloved, trading near a seven-month low as an uncertain outlook in China casts a shadow.

• Mineral Resources fell 0.78% to $60.10
• BHP lost 0.27% to $42.62
• Rio Tinto rose 0.23% to $119.50
• Fortescue gained 0.09% to $21.88

ASX 200 technical analysis

The view has been that the ASX 200 will trade sideways in June before an eventual break higher in the new financial year towards 8000. With six full trading days left until the end of the month, the view has played out well thus far.

A sustained move above resistance at 7900/10 would confirm that the next leg higher has commenced. On the downside, a sustained break below support at 7630/00 would warn of a deeper decline towards 7435 (the 200-day moving average).

ASX 200 daily chart

• _{Source: TradingView. The figures stated are as of 20 June 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.}