ASX 200 to rise, S&P 500 posts biggest weekly gain of the year

ASX 200 futures are trading 7 points higher, up 0.08% as of 8:30 am AEDT.

S&P 500 SESSION CHART

ASX TODAY

• ASX 200 set to open relatively flat following a mixed lead from Wall Street
• ASX 200 up 1.29% last week, led by Materials (+2.35%), Real Estate (+1.88%) and Financials (+1.44%)
• Buy now, pay later stocks reacted positively to the RBA’s decision to drop its tightening bias, led by Zip (+13.5%), Block (+3.6%) and Humm Group (+3.0%) last week
• Cyan Renewables to acquire MMA Offshore for $2.60 cash per share
• Star Entertainment CFO Christina Katsibouba to leave to pursue other interests
• Star Entertainment CEO Robbie Cooke to depart, effective from 22-Mar
• Business Council of Australia pushes back against Green’s bill proposing powers to split grocery retailers (AFR)
• Macquarie mulls acquisition of UK’s largest airport (The Telegraph)
• Newmont’s Akyem Ghana Gold Mine draws Chinese interest (Bloomberg)
• WA's TAB fails to attract sufficient interest (AFR)
• Westpac considering a tech-related acquisition (The Australian)

BROKER MOVES

• APM Human Services downgraded to Hold from Buy but target remains $1.80 (Jefferies)
• Fisher & Paykel upgraded to Sector Perform and target increased to NZ$23 from NZ$20 (RBC Capital Markets)
• Retail Food Group resumed Buy with 10 cent target (Shaw and Partners)
• Sims upgraded to Buy from Neutral and target increased to $14.50 from $13.60 (UBS)

MARKETS

• S&P 500 higher but off best levels amid a very quiet Friday session
• S&P 500 marked its best weekly performance (+2.29%) this year, underpinned by lower bond yields and dovish Fed takeaways
• Bond yields continued to fall – The US 10-year yield fell for a fourth straight session, down a total 12 bps
• BofA says stock funds saw biggest outflow since December '22 in advance of this week's FOMC (Bloomberg)
• Bezos, Zuckerberg among tech leaders selling hundreds of millions of shares (FT)
• Goldman Sachs strategists see Big Tech potentially leading S&P 500 up another 15% (Bloomberg)
• Record amount flows into US corporate bond funds amid demand to lock in higher yields (FT)
• Gold briefly surges above $2,200 for the first time, before retreating (Bloomberg)
• Yuan snaps to four-month low (Bloomberg)
• Yuan increasingly popular as a funding currency for carry trade after BoJ, Taiwan rate hikes (Bloomberg)

INTERNATIONAL STOCKS

• Tesla reducing EV production in China amid softer sales and stiffer competition (Bloomberg)
• Lululemon shares plummet on weak guidance and slowing North American growth (CNBC)
• Nike shares slide on lackluster outlook and slowing China sales (CNBC)
• Didi reports 55% year-on-year revenue growth in Q4 ahead of its IPO this year (Bloomberg)

CENTRAL BANKS

• BoE Governor Bailey says markets correct to expect more than one rate cut in 2024 (Bloomberg)
• BOC officials says QT will likely end in 2025 (Bloomberg)
• BOJ expected to hike again by October with yen weakness posing risk of additional tightening (Bloomberg)
• China's central bank ramps up spending to support economy and avoid worsening local government debt risks (Bloomberg)
• Atlanta Fed's Bostic says he sees just one rate cut this year (Bloomberg)

GEOPOLITICS

• Russia arrests 11 following attack that killed 133 in Moscow as Isis claims responsibility (FT)
• Secretary of State Blinken arrives in Israel to continue Gaza ceasefire talks (NY Times)
• China President Xi plans to meet with US executives in Beijing next week (Bloomberg)
• US lawmakers introduce bill that would bar US mutual funds from investing in indexes that track Chinese stocks (Bloomberg)

ECONOMY

• Japan core inflation remains above BOJ target but food price inflation eases (Bloomberg)
• UK retail sales remains weak, but consumers more confident about finances (Reuters)
  
  

KEY EVENTS

• Monday, 25 March: Perenti (PRN) – $0.02, Cash Converters (CCV) – $0.001, Naos Emerging Opportunities (NCC) – $0.037, Lycopodium (LYL) – $0.37, NRW Holdings (NWH) – $0.06, Cedar Woods (CWP) – $0.08
• Tuesday, 26 March: Civmec (CVL) – $0.025, New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZO) – $0.025, Flight Centre (FLT) – $0.10, Southern Cross Electrical (SXE) – $0.01
• Wednesday, 27 March: Myer (MYR) – $0.03, Waypoint REIT (WPR) – $0.04, IPD Group (IPG) – $0.04, Garda Property (GDF) – $0.016, Rural Funds (RFF) – $0.02, Dexus Convenience Retail REIT (DXC) – $0.05, Reece (REH) – $0.08, Wiseway Group (WWG) – $0.002, 360 Capital REIT (TOT) – $0.015, 360 Capital Mortgage REIT (TCF) – $0.035, Centuria Office REIT (COF) – $0.03, Centuria Retail REIT (CIP) – $0.04, Australian Unity Office Fund (ARF) – $0.015, Arena REIT (ARF) – $0.04
• Thursday, 28 March: Australian Clinical Labs (ACL) – $0.03, Sigma Healthcare (SIG) – $0.033
• Friday, 29 March: None

• Dividends paid: GR Engineering (GNG) – $0.09, Australian Finance Group (AFG) – $0.04, Teaminvest Private (TIP) – $0.015
• Listing: None

No major economic announcements. 

This Morning Wrap was written by Kerry Sun.