ASX Trading Wrap: Health stocks and tech surge as commodity names sell-off
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Rene Anthony
The ASX 200 gained 0.8% this week, eclipsing last week highs to end on 7,368.90 points. The move was driven by a better-than-expected employment report, and as the US central bank failed to make mention of any plans to adjust its bond-buying program. Resource stocks were under pressure from the middle of the week as regulatory moves out of China, and a rising US dollar weighed on a number of commodities.
Which shares excelled?
Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX: TLX) was on fire as the biotech firm reported that its cancer treatment, Illuccix, is on course for approval by the US Food and Drug Administration. Thus far, the regulatory body has observed no substantive review issues with Telix lead investigational product. Should approval follow, it would open up a significant market for the Melbourne-based firm, with its lead product intended for prostate cancer imaging. Shares in TLX soared 28.2% this week.Despite no news from any of the trio, Zip (ASX: Z1P), Afterpay (ASX: APT) and Megaport (ASX: MP1) ended the week on a high note. Investors have seemingly looked past the prospect of earlier-than-expected interest rate hikes and backed-in tech stocks, with the Nasdaq again climbing to reach one of its best closing finishes on record.Shares in ResMed (ASX: RMD) leapt to an all-time high amid competitive dynamics in its industry. One of the medical-device maker rivals, Royal Philips, was forced into a recall of 3.5 million ventilation devices used to treat sleep apnoea. That has led to the prospect that affected patients may be required to temporarily migrate to ResMed products as Royal Philips conducts repairs over the coming months.There was also strong support for other names in the health care sector this week, each coming from a different segment of the industry. Pro Medicus (ASX: PME), Mesoblast (ASX: MSB), Ansell (ASX: ANN) and Sonic Healthcare (ASX: SHL) were all among the best-performing shares from recent days, with investors keen to gain exposure to this corner of the market.Australia stunning turnaround in the labour market has helped shares in Seek (ASX: SEK) set a record. With the unemployment rate dropping to its lowest level since the pandemic began, and a seven-year low in underemployment, the tailwinds are firmly in place for the employment portal. This comes on top of recent data showing job ads at decade-plus highs, while in certain industries the number of job ads are at a 23-year high.Elsewhere, chalking up an all-time high of its own was Hub24 (ASX: HUB), with the wealth management platform peaking briefly above $29 per share. With the share market continuing to perform strongly, that may well be prompting investors to back the company, which has seen a meteoric rise in its share price amid the growing number of sign-ups across its platform.The rebound in A2 Milk (ASX: A2M) has continued to gather pace, with the infant formula business seeing its share price climb. Sentiment has shifted over the last few weeks following news that China is introducing a three-child policy, something that is expected to increase demand for dairy products.
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Which shares dragged on the market?
After a period of strength, commodities were on the back foot this week due to two factors.
First, a hawkish tone from the Federal Reserve in its views towards the economy and accelerated timeline for lifting interest rates buoyed the US dollar, with the greenback surging against global currencies. Commodity prices often move inversely in response to the greenback due to the fact they are priced in US dollars.
On the back of this, we saw particular weakness in the gold market, with the price of the precious metal plunging to as low as US$1,770/oz in one of its worst trading sessions in some time. Despite the direct benefit to gold miners associated with a lower Aussie dollar, that still hurt stocks like Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST), Ramelius Resources (ASX: RMS), AngloGold Ashanti (ASX: AGG), De Grey Mining (ASX: DEG), Newcrest Mining (ASX: NCM) and Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN).Secondary to the Fed, China earlier in the week announced that it would release reserves of key base metals in an attempt to regain some control over pricing. With the Chinese government also tightening monetary and fiscal policy, further downwards pressure emerged for commodities. As a result, there were weaker share prices for OZ Minerals (ASX: OZL), Sandfire Resources (ASX: SFR), South32 (ASX: S32), Nickel Mines (ASX: NIC) and Chalice Mining (ASX: CHN).Rounding things out, lithium and coal stocks also stumbled this week, with names like Galaxy Resources (ASX: GXY), Orocobre (ASX: ORE), Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) and Coronado Global (ASX: CRN) coming unstuck amid a shift in sentiment.
We'll be back next week with another Weekly ASX Trading Wrap Up - until then, have a great week!
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