ASX 200 afternoon report: 8 February 2024

The ASX 200 trades 24 points (0.32%) higher at 7640 at 2.45pm AEDT.

The ASX 200 has gained for a second straight day, taking its lead from Wall Street, which, encouraged by another batch of robust earnings reports, it took its opportunity to push to fresh record highs.

Chipotle Mexican Grill added 7.26% after it beat earnings estimates. Ford's decision to scale back its commitment to its loss-making EVs saw its share price close 6.05% higher at $12.80. Not even a 36% fall in the share price of social media platform Snap, could dampen the mood.

The ASX 200 February earnings season, which picked up speed today, also provided a healthy mix of earnings reports. AGL Energy soared 10.90% to $8.85 as its underlying profits before tax came in at $399 million, above consensus expectations of $320 million. Media giant News Corp gained 6.32% to $41.86 as its increased focus on digital subscriptions offset declining advertising revenue.

Today’s market movement

Banking sector

• CBA: +1.01% to $115.70
• Macquarie: +0.77% to $191.17
• NAB: + 0.75% to $32.37
• ANZ: +0.62% to $237.59
• Westpac: +0.25% to $24.33

Mining industry

A shock -0.8 % yoy fall in China's January CPI has reinforced the need for Chinese authorities to step up and provide more substantial stimulus to prevent the deflationary spiral from gaining further traction. The big iron ore miners trimmed gains, with

• Fortescue: + 0.90% to $28.58
• Mineral Resources: + 0.39% to $57.05
• Rio Tinto: +0.42% to $130.15
• BHP: -0.03%to $46.45

Uranium sector

• Bannerman Energy: + 8.20% to $3.96
• Deep Yellow: +3.24% to $1.67
• Silex Systems: +0.81% to $5.62 for a fresh 13-year high
• Paladin Energy: + 0.17% to $1.44, its highest level in 12 years

Lithium sector

• Liontown Resources: +5.26% to $1.00
• Vulcan: +4.41% to $2.13
• IGO: +2.77% to $7.24
• Core Lithium: +1.35% to $0.19c

ASX 200 technical analysis

While the ASX 200 maintains altitude above horizontal support at 7570, we look for the ASX 200 to trade towards 7900. Aware that if the ASX 200 were to lose support at 7570 on a sustained basis, it would warn that the recent up move was a false break higher, and consign the ASX 200 to another round of range trading.

ASX 200 daily chart

• _{Source: TradingView. The figures stated are as of 8 February 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.}