ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Blue chips, earnings drag ASX lower

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a shaky week last week, dominated by mixed earnings reports and some wild fluctuations in individual share prices. Earnings season is still in full swing, and we heard from a range of ASX shares last week in what was a mixed bag of results.

It was a volatile week for the ASX 200, which touched as high as 6,188 points and as low as 6,011 at various points. Despite these swings, the ASX 200 finished only  0.2% lower for the week.

It was a fast-paced and action-packed time, to be sure.

Some ASX 200 earnings tidbits

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) announced its third-quarter results and cancelled its interim dividend.

The WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price took off (up nearly 40% for the week) after the logistics company announced a 23% surge in revenue.

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) also impressed with a bump in revenue and earnings and a hefty 14.6% increase for its dividend.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) was also in dividend investors' good books last week. It announced a 77 cents per share dividend, as well as a special dividend of 18 cents per share, mostly funded from the sale of Coles shares that the company offloaded earlier in the year.

Another winner was Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD). Although the company announced an $8.2 million loss, there are signs of a recovery under way in the travel sector. That pushed up Corporate Travel shares up more than 20% for the week.

Meanwhile, a big loser for the week was Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE). After it was announced that China (a major market for Treasury) is considering possible tariffs on Australian wine over allegations of dumping, the company's share price cratered more than 20%.

We also had some fairly momentous events over on the US markets as well. Hot stock Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TLSA) powered to over US$2,000 a share last week to yet another new all-time high. That helped push Tesla's CEO (and major shareholder) Elon Musk's net wealth to new heights. According to Forbes, Musk is now the world's 5th richest person partly as a result. Tesla shares are now up more than 376% year to date

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) also passed a phenomenal milestone of its own, becoming the first publically-listed company to be valued at more than US$2 trillion when its share price passed US$473 last week. The shares closed on Friday night (our time) at close to US$500 a share, meaning Apple has now appreciated more than 65% in 2020 so far.

How did the markets end the week?

It was a topsy turvy week as companies' earnings reports began trickling in. Overall, the ASX 200 saw a 0.2% drop for the week after starting out at 6,126.2 points and finishing up at 6,111.2 points. Monday saw a 0.8% drop, which Tuesday mirrored with a 0.8% rise. Wednesday saw the ASX 200 pile on another 0.7%, which took the index to its highest level since March at 6,167.1 points. This was erased on Thursday and Friday though, with falls of 0.8% and 0.14% respectively.

Meanwhile, in contrast to the ASX 200, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) eked out a small gain of 0.1% last week, after starting at 6,261.7 points and finishing up at 6,270.7 points. Since the All Ordinaries contains 500 ASX shares compared to the smaller ASX 200, its movements can often produce contrasting results.

Which ASX 200 shares were the biggest winners and losers?

Time now to get salacious and check out the ASX 200's biggest winners and losers from the past week. So let's get the kettle on and start with last week's losers:

As we flagged earlier, Treasury was the recipient of the wooden spoon last week over concerns that China is moving to restrict the importation of Aussie wine into China.

Struggling real estate investment trust (REIT) Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield also didn't have a great week. Investors are apparently not convinced the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is behind the international owner of the Westfield brand.

Coopper Energy also had a shocker over issues with its bedfellow APA Group (ASX: APA) shutting down one of its gas pipelines.

Meanwhile, gold miner Resolute was sold off after political issues in Mali emerged involving a coup d'etat. Resolute has a large gold mine in the African country, so political instability isn't good news.

Now with the bad news out of the way, lets now have a look at last week's winners:

Again, as we noted earlier, WiseTech was the week's best share with an extraordinary 40% jump in market capitalisation after its well-received earnings report.

IDP Education also makes the list following a surprisingly good earnings report of its own. Investors clearly loved the company's 29% increase for its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) that was revealed.

We've also already covered Corporate Travel, while engineering company Monadelphous benefitted from positive sentiment (including from brokers) after its own expectation-beating earnings.

What does this week look like for the ASX 200?

Earnings madness is set to continue this week, which will undoubtedly shape the ASX 200's overall performance. Investors will be looking forward to seeing how companies like Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Appen Ltd (ASX: APX), Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC), Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) have been fairing when they release results this week. Considering the number of companies that have been forced to cut or cancel dividend in recent weeks, these payouts will form a major part of the reception of these earnings, particularly from blue chip ASX 200 shares like Fortescue and Woolworths.

I'm also keeping a close eye on coronavirus case numbers in New South Wales and Victoria this week, as any new developments (as always) have market-moving potential. The US Presidential election campaign is also heating up, so that also merits an increasingly watchful eye this week, in my view. As I discussed last week, we shouldn't underestimate how much the US elections can have an impact on or own ASX.

Before we go, here's a look at how the major ASX 200 blue chip shares are fairing as we start another week in paradise:

And finally, here is the lay of the land for some leading market indicators:

•     S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) at 6,111.2 points
•     All Ordinaries (XAO) at 6,270.7 points
•     Dow Jones Industrial Average at 27,930.33 points after rising 0.69% on Friday night (our time)
•     Gold (Spot) swapping hands for US$1,940.89 per troy ounce
•     Iron ore asking US$121.78 per tonne
•     Crude oil (Brent) trading at US$44.35 per barrel
•     Crude oil (WTI) going for US$42.34 per barrel
•     Australian dollar buying 71.61 US cents
•    10-year Australian Government bonds yielding 0.87% per annum

Foolish takeaway

As we enter another week of warnings, I think keeping the following concept in mind is a great idea. Coronavirus brought a great deal of uncertainty to investors. We simply didn't know how much the pandemic would affect each company.

Now, the curtains are finally being pulled back, it's a great time to assess whether a company will suffer only in the short-term, or whether it might be in terminal decline. As always Fools, stay safe, stay rational and stay Foolish this week!