Trending On Livewire: Weekend Edition - Saturday 15th March
This week marked the ASX 200’s fourth straight weekly slide, flirting with correction territory (down 10% from the high). While that sounds brutal, it’s unclear whether this is just a pullback or the start of something worse.
Bears argue that market sentiment has rightly turned cautious. Trump’s trade war, full of tariffs and counter-tariffs, fuels the uncertainty. Case in point: his threat of 200% tariffs on European wine and champagne in response to a tariff on US whiskey - just when we could all use a drink. Falling US earnings expectations and downward index revisions also give bears plenty of ammunition.
Bulls counter that inflation is the real driver, and it’s moving in the right direction. With rates already hiked, central banks still have room to stimulate if needed. This week’s benign US inflation print reinforces the argument and suggests stagflation isn’t here yet.
Regardless, the time for panic selling has passed - probably weeks ago. Now, investors should focus on where capital is flowing and what opportunities emerge. One area gaining attention? Defence spending. It’s a reminder that in shifting markets, there are always winners and losers. The key is identifying them early.
With that in mind, Livewire’s 2025 Listed Series couldn’t be more timely. We’ll bring you insights from fund managers across asset classes and investment styles, exploring how they’re navigating the current landscape and the listed products offering access.
Stay tuned. Have a great weekend.
Chris Conway, Managing Editor, Livewire Markets
Jun Bei Liu: 2 stocks for the bottom draw and the only realistic scenarios left for 2025
At the start of 2025, investors faced three big scenarios: a hard landing, a soft landing, or no landing at all. Now, only two remain, with a hard landing ruled out, according to Ten Cap’s Jun Bei Liu. That might seem optimistic given the February market sell-off, but Liu sees it differently. The ASX 200 is down 8.5% in a month, and US equities have dropped 10% after two years of gains. While the headlines are unnerving, Liu believes the equity backdrop remains strong, and this volatility is creating opportunities to buy at better valuations.
Longview's Chris Watling warns US stock market dominance over, bond rally could reverse
Longview Economics’ founder and chief market strategist Chris Watling thinks stocks could bottom out this quarter and long-term focused investors should use the ongoing washout to buy high-quality companies at a discount.
In this wire, the economist and adviser to institutional investors also tips the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates four times in 2025 in a bid to support its tariff hit economy and potentially put a floor under stock prices. Watling also explains why he thinks a European investment boom in defence and manufacturing means its sharemarkets are still cheap, versus global peers.
Top 3 Wires this Week
Here are the weeks top viewed or liked wires by our subscribers:
Our Experts
Some of the best wires from our Contributors this week
Equities
Why CSL will likely underperform term deposits
View
Equities
The ASX dividend deniers have returned, but here's the good news for income investors
View
Macro
Double Trouble
View
Chart of the Week: The best investors of all time and the trait they share
Source: Ophir Asset Management
This week's chart of the week comes from Ophir Asset Management, and is a timely reminder of why we should ignore the noise when markets wobble - although that is admittedly very hard to do. The chart shows the S&P 500 per annum returns after some major market meltdowns - the current one is just a minor one at this stage - and shows that if you're investing over the long-term, you stand a pretty robust chance to make solid returns
Chris Conway, Managing Editor, Livewire Markets
Weekly Poll
AI-related stocks have taken a hit recently, with the ASX 200 Information Technology sector down 14% year to date. Companies like NextDC, Wisetech and Technology One are down significantly this year. Do you see this as:
a) A short-term correction – AI stocks will bounce back soon
b) A warning sign – AI stocks have been overvalued for a long time
c) An opportunity – Time to buy at lower prices
LAST WEEKS POLL RESULTS
We asked "With the ASX 200 now down around 7% from the mid-February high, what - if anything - are you doing about it?"
The poll shows 7% decline, 61% were doing nothing, 21% were making small adjustments, 12% were raising cash, and 7% had exited entirely.
How do you rate this Weekend's Trending On Livewire?
After selecting, you'll have the option to provide more detailed feedback in our quick survey.
Get the Weekend Edition straight to your inbox
Popular and exclusive content from the week sent every Saturday morning
SUBSCRIBE TO TRENDING ON LIVEWIRE - IT'S FREE
Other Newsletters across our network
- Trending on Livewire Daily: Get the best of Livewire by signing up to our popular daily newsletter
- Market Wraps: Concise market recaps of the ASX's most critical events 2x daily
- Weekly Wrap: A summary of market highlights from the week, sent each weekend
Never miss an update
Enjoy this wire? Hit the ‘like’ button to let us know.
Stay up to date with my current content by
following me below and you’ll be notified every time I post a wire
Livewire Exclusive brings you exclusive content from a wide range of leading fund managers and investment professionals.
1 contributor mentioned
Livewire Markets
Livewire Exclusive brings you exclusive content from a wide range of leading fund managers and investment professionals.
Expertise
Livewire Markets
Livewire Exclusive brings you exclusive content from a wide range of leading fund managers and investment professionals.
Expertise
Comments
Comments
Sign In or Join Free to comment
most popular
Equities
Buy Hold Sell: 5 stocks with massive growth runways
Livewire Markets