ASX hits new record; immigration overhaul; best and worst of ETFs
News in brief
Federal Labor has delayed a significant immigration crackdown after ministers raised questions about the potential political backlash and the economic consequences of reducing the migrant intake.
Jetstar will charge between $25 and $50 for all carry-on luggage that fits into overhead lockers, joining some of Europe’s low cost carriers in doing so. But passengers will be able to carry on a smaller bag, of any weight, that fits under the seat in front for free.
InvestSMART has released its 2026 ETF scorecard, and the best performing exchange traded funds for the financial year mostly invested in AI and semiconductors, while some of the worst performers were in the crypto space.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day had the biggest domestic box office opening weekend in history in the US, taking $US360 million, eclipsing the mark set by Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
Fear-o-meter
OzTam June quarter report on viewing habits
Total TV, comprising free-to-air broadcast TV and BVOD (broadcast video on demand), continued to account for the majority of viewing on TV sets … representing 60.4 per cent of viewing.
Digital video, including streaming services and online video platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video and YouTube, accounted for the remaining 39.6 per cent.
The latest Streamscape data highlights changing patterns within digital video services. Among individual services, YouTube accounted for 11.3 per cent share of total video viewing on TV sets, with growth recorded across all major demographic groups.
Viewing habits continue to vary by age. Among Australians aged 18-39, digital video represented 60.7 per cent of viewing on TV sets, while among the key advertising demographic of people aged 25-54, viewing was almost evenly split between total TV (50.1 per cent) and digital video (49.9 per cent).
Fear & Greed Q+A today
On what investors could see this reporting season, with a focus on Australian retailers:
“JB Hi-Fi is a phenomenal business. They manage costs extremely well and they've consistently leaned into new trends before others. Whether it was gaming, telco, IT or now marketplaces, they've done a great job adapting.
Electronics have almost become a staple product now. We all need them and use them every day. AI is driving demand for new devices, there's innovation across the category, memory prices are rising and we're seeing replacement cycles start to build again.
While there might be a little softness in the near term, when I look at where consensus expectations sit for next year, I actually think JB Hi-Fi could do a little bit better than the market is expecting. It's a high-quality business with a lot of things going for it.”
The local sharemarket hit a new record yesterday, closing up nearly one per cent to 9,228 points as hopes for an imminent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz over-powered a sell-off in banks and energy stocks. A rally on Wall Street on the back of strong earnings from some tech stocks also helped propelled the local market.
It was the big miners and tech stocks that did best yesterday, while the energy companies fell back as the price of oil fell to $US76 a barrel.
BHP surged 3.3 per cent and is now ten per cent off its lows off a month ago, as is Rio Tinto. Much of that reflects higher copper prices.
But it is the local tech stocks that have made some of the biggest gains. In the past month, WiseTech Global is up 20 per cent. In the past week, Xero and TechnologyOne are up more than ten per cent while NextDC is up eight per cent. Tracking group Life360 is up 18 per cent in the past five days.
The rally comes after some significant falls in share prices in the tech sector but nonetheless show that investors are more comfortable around tech valuations.
The market hit a record ahead of the bulk of earnings season, and despite the big four banks going backwards. Based on the past couple of half-year profit seasons, the next few weeks will be volatile, so hitting a new high was somewhat surprising.
Greed-o-meter
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