Markets tumble as fear reigns; $300m for Star; White Lotus juggernaut

Markets tumble as fear reigns; $300m for Star; White Lotus juggernaut

News in brief

• Nearly $100 billion was wiped off the ASX yesterday with the benchmark index finishing down more than four per cent. It could have been worse with the S&P/ASX200 at one point down six per cent. The major banks, the big miners and the energy stocks were among the hardest hit. The Aussie dollar dipped below 60 US cents. It reflects fears that US tariffs will send the global economy into recession. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he expects Australian growth to take a hit, and the budget deficit to widen. The silver lining - it could result in lower interest rates from May.

   

• The board of Star Entertainment has agreed to hand over the casino group to US-based Bally’s Corporation in a $300m deal, meaning the casinos in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast will continue operating. Under the plan, Bally’s will inject about $250m into Star, while largest shareholder publican Bruce Mathieson will put in $50m, according to the AFR.
  
  

• Opposition leader Peter Dutton is battling to ward off comparisons to US President Donald Trump, saying his policies are not controversial. Mind you, he was talking after jumping out of an oil tanker to spruik his promise to cut fuel prices … and it was slightly similar to Donald Trump jumping out of a garbage truck during his campaign.

   

• Energy giant Woodside will sell 40pc of its interest in its Louisiana LNG Infrastructure project to a US investment group for $US5.7 billion. The money, from Stonepeak, will be used to fund the capital cost of the project, and Woodside is looking at offloading more of the venture.
  
  

• The third season of HBO series The White Lotus, and its finale yesterday Australian time, has become one of the most popular TV series on record for the Warner Bros platform. Season three is the show's most popular yet, attracting around 18-20m viewers – double what season one attracted.

Fear-o-meter

Don’t panic. For anyone with a superannuation fund, and that’s pretty much all of us, that’s nearly always the best advice. If you run a long-term trend line through Wall Street’s S&P500 and the S&P/ASX200 at home, only after the falls of recent sessions do the markets look about fair value. In fact the US market still looks over-valued.

 

Keep in mind, superannuants have had a couple of years of double digit returns. We are due a poorer year. And superannuation is a long term investment, quite able to ride the ups and downs of markets.

 

In the 2000s, there have been four bigger corrections than what we’ve seen so far, and the market has bounced in each case, especially after COVID-19. AMP’s chief economist Shane Oliver says the main determinant of whether markets fall into a “gummy bear market” where equities fall 5-15pc, or a “grizzly” bear market which is much worse, is whether the US economy goes into recession. Unfortunately the risk of a US recession has increased, Oliver says. But the advice is the same. Don’t panic.

Who's talking today?

On weathering the storm in equities and making the most of market volatility:

"If we look back over the last 15, 20, 30 years, you have these multiple down periods or down days, and they often present some pretty material opportunities."

It’s Tuesday the 8th of April, and global equity, bond and commodity markets tumble as uncertainty and fear takes hold. The board of Star Entertainment recommends the sale of the gaming group, and Peter Dutton wards off comparisons with Donald Trump. Also Woodside's mega LNG deal, and The White Lotus becomes one of HBO's best rating series.

Greed-o-meter

Rank	Company	Change
1	Commonwealth Bank of Australia	-6.23%
2	BHP Group Ltd	-6.11%
3	CSL Ltd	-4.51%
4	Westpac Banking Corporation	-5.62%
5	National Australia Bank Ltd	-4.48%
6	ANZ Group Holdings Ltd	-4.79%
7	Wesfarmers Ltd	-4.87%
8	Macquarie Group Ltd	-0.84%
9	Goodman Group	-4.28%
10	Telstra Group Ltd	-0.46%

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These are the ten biggest companies on the ASX - and this is how much they fell yesterday. Talk about a broad-based sell-off.

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