The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) made it 4 out of 4 weeks in the green last week, as the index reached yet another post-March high. It was a week of gentle ups and downs for the ASX 200, which had climbed as high as 6,700 points in intra-day trading on Wednesday before retreating away from these highs on Thursday and Friday.
These gains, coming after what have been some spectacular rises over the preceding weeks, have put the ASX 200 on track to have one of its best months of the year so far (barring a cataclysmic day of trading today). The increases also briefly wiped out the year's losses mid week, and put the ASX 200 ahead for the year for the first time since late February. But alas, it was not to last, for at Friday's close, the index remains down 1.3% year to date.
Even so, it has been a spectacular month. Since Friday 30 October, the ASX 200 has notched up gains worth 11.4%. That's a pretty remarkable feat considering the index usually delivers, on average, an annual return far lower than that. At Friday's close, the ASX 200 has now delivered a rise of more than 45% since the lows of 23 March. We still remain 7.8% away from the all-time high of 7,162 points we saw back on 20 February.
However, we can't say the same for the United States markets, which, last week, broke an all-time high – with the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) crossing the 30,000-point threshold for the first time in history.
Wine and cheese?
But, back to the ASX. What were some of the big stories of the week? Well, perhaps the biggest event of note happened on Friday, when the Chinese government announced that, effective 28 November, tariffs (import taxes) would be placed on all Australian wines over the weekend. This decision was supposedly made in response to alleged 'dumping' of Aussie wines into the Chinese market at uncompetitive pricing. That's an allegation the Australian government denies is valid, according to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) on Friday. However, it didn't stop shares of the ASX's biggest wine producer, Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) from going into freefall. The Treasury Wine share price plunged 11.25% on Friday to $9.23 before the company quickly placed it in a trading halt, which will be effective until 1 December.
In other news last week, we also got wind that Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX: BGA) has successfully purchased Lion Dairy & Drinks from Japanese giant Kirin Holdings Co Ltd for $534 million. This portfolio includes well-known brands like Juice Brothers, Farmers Union, Big M, Pura, Yoplait, Dairy Farmers and Dare. Bega picked up the iconic Vegemite brand from US giant Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ: MDLZ) back in 2017. Investors enthusiastically embraced the move when it was announced on Friday, with the Bega share price rising 7.11% to $5.42 in response.
How did the markets end the week?
Well. The ASX 200 started the week at 6,539.2 points and finished up at 6,601.1 points for a healthy week-to-week gain of 0.95%. Monday kicked things off with a 0.3% gain, which was supplemented on Tuesday with another 1.3% on top. Wednesday added 0.6%, but Thursday and Friday saw the mood dampen for ASX investors, delivering 0.7% and 0.53% losses respectively. Those 2 days were only the fifth and sixth days of losses in November so far. However, it wasn't enough to break the ASX 200's winning streak, and the index finished up in the green, making it 4 out of 4 weeks of gains.
Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) also had a strong week, rising from 6,739.9 points to 6,816.8 points, a week-to-week gain of 1.14%.
Which ASX 200 shares were the biggest winners and losers?
In our most salacious segment, we look at the shares that topped and bottomed the ASX 200 charts the previous week. So put the kettle on while we start with the worst-performing ASX 200 shares from last week:
| Worst ASX 200 losers | % loss for the week |
|---|---|
| Virgin Money UK (ASX: VUK) | (12.64%) |
| Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) | (9.71%) |
| Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) | (8.41%) |
| Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) | (6.82%) |
Last week's wooden spoon went to British bank, Virgin Money UK. Investors evidently weren't too impressed with the company's full-year results, which were released last week, and included a 77% collapse in net profits.
Data company, Megaport, was also in the wars, although this move appears to be driven by shifting sentiment rather than concrete numbers or any market announcements out of the company.
Gold miner, Northern Star, was also out of favour last week. Like all ASX gold miners, money has been shifting away from Northern Star shares as demand for 'save haven' assets like gold dries up in the expectation of a successful COVID-19 vaccine.
Let's now turn to last week's winners:
| Best ASX 200 gainers | % gain for the week |
|---|---|
| Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM) |
14.77% |
| Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) |
13.57% |
| Pendal Group Ltd (ASX: PDL) |
13.52% |
| Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB) |
11.81% |
Last week was a good one for asset/fund managers. Pendal and Platinum are both ASX fundies that have been benefitting from a rising ASX 200. A rising share market often translates into higher funds under management for fundies, so it's possible the market is trading off of this sentiment. In other news, Pendal also announced last week that it would be entering the cryptocurrency space as well, which could have played a role in this sentiment.
Meanwhile, Whitehaven seems to be benefitting from optimism over possible demand from Chinese steel mills in 2021, while pharma company, Mesoblast, seems to be continuing to benefit from its recently announced deal with the Swiss giant Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS).
What does this week look like for the ASX 200?
As per usual, there are a couple of notable events to keep an eye on this week. We have Zip Co Ltd's (ASX: Z1P) annual general meeting to look forward to today. Kentucky Fried Chicken operator, Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF), will be delivering some half-year results on Tuesday. No doubt investors' will be hoping for some finger-lickin' good numbers from that one. And we have Solly Lew's Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV) also holding its annual general meeting on Friday.
Before we go, here is a look at the major ASX 200 blue chip shares as we embark on another week:
| ASX 200 company | Trailing P/E ratio | Last share price | 52-week high | 52-week low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) |
48.32 |
$303 |
$342.75 |
$242.67 |
| Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) |
19.74 |
$80.71 |
$91.05 |
$53.44 |
| Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) |
32.06 |
$20.43 |
$25.96 |
$13.47 |
| National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) |
21.49 |
$23.32 |
$27.49 |
$13.20 |
| Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) |
19.07 |
$23.09 |
$27.29 |
$14.10 |
| Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) |
40.8 |
$37.56 |
$43.96 |
$32.12 |
| Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) |
34.82 |
$49.89 |
$50.67 |
$29.75 |
| BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) | 18.16 |
$38.72 |
$41.47 |
$24.05 |
| Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) |
17.04 |
$102 |
$107.79 |
$72.77 |
| Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) |
24.47 |
$17.94 |
$19.26 |
$14.01 |
| Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) |
20.34 |
$3.11 |
$3.94 |
$2.66 |
| Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) |
– |
$14.16 |
$16.44 |
$9.10 |
| Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) |
102.17 |
$6.72 |
$9.07 |
$4.26 |
| Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) |
23.99 |
$27.09 |
$38.15 |
$20.70 |
| Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) |
– |
$22.73 |
$36.28 |
$14.93 |
| Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) |
20.77 |
$137.49 |
$152.35 |
$70.45 |
And finally, here is the lay of the land for some leading market indicators:
- S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) at 6,601.1 points.
- All Ordinaries Index (XAO) at 6,816.8 points.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) at 29,910.37 points after rising 0.13% on Friday night (our time).
- Gold (Spot) swapping hands for US$1,789.03 per troy ounce.
- Iron ore asking US$127.68 per tonne.
- Crude oil (Brent) trading at US$48.18 per barrel.
- Australian dollar buying 73.85 US cents.
- 10-year Australian Government bonds yielding 0.90% per annum.
That's all folks, see you next week!
