ASX 200 surges 219 points as new coronavirus cases slow

With news emerging that the spread of the novel coronavirus in Australia has begun to slow, financial markets reacted in an unsurprisingly bullish manner today.

Specifically, the ASX 200 finished out the day at the 5286 point level – up some 219 points or 4.33%.

At the time of writing, Australia’s coronavirus case count stood at 5,788; while total deaths stemming from the virus have reached 39. Positively, some 2,315 individuals have reportedly recovered from the virus.

ASX 200 market news and developments

As bullishness again returns, all sectors managed to finish out the day higher. This change in mood comes after the ASX 200 dropped 1.68% on Friday.

Energy stocks were the best performing here, with the ASX 200 Energy Index (XEJ) finishing out the day up 5.70%; followed by the A-REIT Index (XXJ), which gained 4.79%; and the Financial Index (XFJ), which added 4.72% and finished out the day at 4,302 points.

By comparison, the Industrials sector was the worst performing of the day, with the XNJ index closing out Monday up ‘just’ 2.25% – at the 4,951 point level.

On a more granular level, Corporate Travel Management, Pilbara Minerals and HUB24 were Australia's best performing equities; while Webjet, NextDC and IDP Education were the worst performing.

Looking at some of Monday's other key developments: Flight Centre announced that it was gearing up for a $700 million equity raise; Oil Search was placed in a trading halt pending news concerning its own capital raise; antimicrobial micro-cap Zoono revealed a strong up-tick in Q3 sales; Seek announced it would be deferring its Interim Dividend; Origin Energy provided an operational and financial update to the market; and Paradigm Biopharma joined a growing list of companies set to tap the market for fresh capital.

Upgrades, downgrades and everything in between

Elsewhere, Macquarie Wealth Management lowered its price target on outdoor retailer Kathmandu to $0.98 per share (from $1.57 per share); Morgan Stanley argued that Afterpay may be set to benefit from Covid-19 induced 'online tailwinds', though the investment bank retained its Equal-weight rating and $19.00 per share price target; JP Morgan prophetically flagged Oil Search’s 'debt metrics' as stretched; Bell Potter upgraded its recommendation on Suncorp from Hold to Accumulate; and Citibank lowered its price target on Ramsay Health Care from $75.00 per share to $70.00 per share – though retained its Buy recommendation.

How to trade markets – long or short

What do you make of today’s bullish price action: Is it sustainable or not? Whatever your opinion, you can trade indices, currencies and equities – both up and down – through IG’s trading platform now.

For example, to buy (long) or sell (short) the ASX 200 using CFDs, follow these easy steps:

• Create an IG Trading Account or log in to your existing account
• Enter ‘Australia 200’ or ‘ASX 200’ in the search bar and select it
• Choose your position size
• Click on ‘buy’ or ‘sell’ in the deal ticket
• Confirm the trade