The benchmark ASX200 Index is set to finish the week on a high, gaining 0.65% to 8,277.8 points.
A strong showing from the Utilities sector (+2.7%) was behind much of Friday's strength with energy providers Origin Energy and AGL Energy (ASX:AGL) (ASX:AGK) each up more than 2.7%, and energy infrastructure business APA gaining 3%.
The Financials sector logged another solid session, up 1.25%, as the big four banks all moved higher.
ACCC chief Gina Cass-Gottlieb has agreed with Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn that the regulator should examine a proposed regime by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to allow third-party contactless payments through iPhones.
She stated: “We are aware that now a vast majority of payments in the Australian economy, well over 50% in fact, over 70%, are occurring through digital wallets.
“In a situation in which our banks do not have the capacity across all devices and ecosystems available digitally to offer their own convenient tap-and-go service, we think it is significant for our economy and an important regulatory question.”
Regulators are hoping payment system reform legislation will pass through parliament, potentially in the next two weeks.
Meanwhile Cuscal, which provides payment services to banks and whose owners include Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (ASX:BEN), MasterCard and other mutual banks, has locked in demand for its initial public offering.
The company said the Cuscal book was covered at the $2.50 per share fixed price, with cornerstone commitments of $170 million, which represents more than half of the $336.8 million offering. The book is scheduled to close on November 21.
Sohn Hearts and Minds Investment Conference
The ninth annual Sohn Hearts and Minds Investment Conference — the Australian version of the New York-based Sohn conference — is on in Adelaide today as leading investment managers share some of their best ideas.
Hearts and Minds Investments’ HM1 Fund is a six-year-old fund that gives 1.5% of its assets to medical research charities each year.
The global equity fund invests over one-third of its assets in the 10 stocks recommended by Sohn conference fund managers each year.
One such investment idea came from Antipodes Partner Vihari Ross, previously of Magellan, who highlighted the potential of the travel sector and Paris-listed Airbus.
Ross said Airbus’s “profits could more than double, in fact could almost triple" as the plane-maker, whose only real competition is Boeing (NYSE:BA), starts to deliver more profitable planes.
Northcape Capital’s Fleur Wright picked Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL) stating, “Women use a staggering 16 beauty products and that’s just for the morning routine. What’s more it makes economic sense as evidenced by a beauty premium - that is, more attractive people earn more.”
Small cap specialist, IFM Investors’ Rikki Bannan picked Corporate Travel Management Ltd after a tough few years.
Interestingly she said, “Mispriced opportunities tend to be more prevalent in the small cap sector. It could be a good time to be investing in the space.
“It’s been a tough couple of years for small caps, but this might be the year for them.”
Speaking at the conference, Barclays (LON:BARC) global chairman of research Ajay Rajadhyaksa spoke about the potential impact of Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs.
Rajadhyaksa noted that Trump had been elected as a result of a concern in the electorate about inflation, but threats to impose tariffs of 10% across the board, and up to 60% on goods from China, would add to inflationary pressures in the US.
He added that the hardline policies on tariffs could have more impact this time around than Trump’s previous tariffs on China, which had been softened by the substitution of imports from other countries not subject to the same tariffs.
This time Rajadhyaksa expects the tariffs to be more inflationary as the policies under Trumps’ next Presidency would make it much harder for import substitution with allies less able to “negotiate their way” out of tariffs, lifting prices of all imports across the board.
Five at Five
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Peninsula Energy targets December Lance Uranium Project production restart
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GTI Energy set for resource update next month
GTI Energy Ltd (ASX:GTR, OTC:GTRIF) CEO Bruce Lane talked with Proactive’s Tylah Tully about the company’s progress toward delivering an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) and exploration target for the Lo Herma ISR Uranium Project in Wyoming's Powder River Basin.
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