The local market is on track to end a three-day losing streak with the ASX200 trading 0.4% higher this afternoon. Yet the benchmark index is set to record a loss for the week, which would mark its first two-week fall in seven months.
Consumer Staples and Healthcare stocks are leading the way today, while the Technology and Property sectors are trading slightly lower.
News that Mexican-themed fast-food chain Guzman y Gomez plans to list on the ASX next month generated interest today. The group is planning to sell 11.1 million shares at $22 per share to raise about $242.5 million. Considerable support and demand has come from existing shareholders, including Aware Super, Cooper Investors, Hyperion Asset Management, Firetrail Investments and QVG Capital.
"We truly believe that fast food doesn't have to be bad food and we look forward to sharing our food with more guests across Australia and overseas as we look to realise the opportunity we have to grow our network to more than 1,000 restaurants over the next 20+ years," said Co-CEO Steven Marks.
Savings are up; GDP likely slowed
Australian household bank savings reached a new record high of $1.47 trillion in April after $200 billion worth of deposits were made since interest rates began to rise in 2022, according to analysis of APRA statistics by RateCity.
RateCity research director Sally Tindall said: "Money in the bank hit yet another record high in the month of April, despite the fact the full force of the RBA’s 13 rate hikes is now weighing down on those with a mortgage, alongside every other cost-of-living pressure.
"Since the start of the hikes in May 2022, the total value of household deposits has taken just one backwards step, recorded in June 2023. Every other month it has climbed in stark defiance to the rate hikes.”
Meanwhile, the total value of housing loans to households lifted by $9.38 billion in April with all four big banks seeing growth in their loan books.
With all that cash being funnelled into bank accounts, it may not be surprising that the National Australia Bank expects next Wednesday's ABS National Accounts to show first quarter GDP growth of 0%.
If this weak economic growth proves true, NAB expects “the RBA remain on hold, despite a still strong CPI read in April."
Looking further ahead, it added: "We expect soft growth to persist in Q2, before easing pressures on household income support growth in H2 – though just how much remains uncertain and will be key."
"We expect soft growth to persist in Q2, before easing pressures on household income support growth in H2 – though just how much remains uncertain and will be key."
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