Despite a late sell-off on Friday, the ASX 200 ended the week up 1.8%, with reporting season continuing to contribute to the market’s strong start to the year. Investors shifted at the end of the week as they reacted to renewed tensions between Iran and the US over a nuclear deal negotiation. However, the impact was limited with the index only dropping 0.05% drop for the day.
The share market is expected to drop after Trump imposed 15% tariffs late in the week. While the announcement weighed on sentiment, it’s not unfamiliar territory. Similar policy shocks over the past year such as ‘liberation day’ have produced short-term dives before being absorbed by the market.
ASX Movers by the Numbers:
The week’s best performers on the ASX 200 include:
Austal Limited (ASX:ASB) +29.36%
HUB24 Limited (ASX:HUB) +27.33%
Technology One Limited (ASX:TNE) +22.71%
In contrast, the worst performers on the ASX 200:
Zip Co Ltd. (ASX:ZIP) -25.21%
Reliance Worldwide Corp. Ltd. (ASX:RWC) -13.45%
MA Financial Group Limited (ASX:MAF) -10.63%
Austal, an Australian shipbuilder and defence contractor lead the ASX 200 after securing a $4bn contract from the Commonwealth Department of Defence to build 8 Landing Craft Heavy vessels through to 2038. For the market, they are drawn to the stable, steady cashflows backed by the government which lowers risk.
Zip leads the losers this week on the ASX 200 marking a week to forget for Zip investors. Its fall surprisingly comes after Zip reported a record cash EBITDA and $124m, up around 85% year on year. However, an increase in earnings was dimmed by the increase in ‘net bad debts’, a key risk metric which climbed 11% signalling to worried investors to sell.
