Hello everyone, great to have your company on Kalkine TV. I'm Rose and you’re watching
Buzzing Trends. We will look at four ASX listed blue-chip shares today.
Today, during the afternoon trading session, ASX 200 was down by sharp 1.5% while yesterday
it was a different story. The benchmark ASX 200 index was up over 0.88% by noon and reached
7,175.30 points, backed by the US market rally. Today, the S&P/ASX 200 traded lower by lunchtime
in Sydney on Thursday, regaining some of the ground lost by a greater tumble when markets
opened. Blue chips initially dropped sharply to wipe nearly 2 per cent from the benchmark
in the opening hours of trade, following a dramatic 4 per cent decline for the S&P 500
in US trading overnight. The decline on the ASX hit consumer-facing companies, with the
likes of JB Hi-Fi down 6.5 per cent and Wesfarmers shaving 6 per cent.
On this note, let’s look at the performance of four ASX 50 shares. The shares in focus
are QBE Insurance Group, Sonic Healthcare, REA Group and Xero.
Let’s begin with QBE Insurance Group.
It is a dominant player in the Australian insurance industry. The insurance behemoth
commands a market capitalisation of about AU$19 billion. Its shares have traded in the
52-week range of AU$10 to AU$12.88 apiece. Yesterday during the mid-market session, QBE Insurance
share price was up 0.08%. The underwriting and reinsurance company did not publish any
updates in the exchange yesterday. Its last announcement was on 17th May, relating to
a change in the director's interest and conversion of securities related to an employee incentive
scheme. Both did not appear to have a major impact on QBE Insurance share price. At the
beginning of the month, the company had announced latest performance update on the ASX, reflecting
growth on prior-year numbers.
However, in the last five days of trade, QBE Insurance share price has gained over 3% alongside
and on a year-to-date basis, the share has gained around 7%. QBE Insurance shares are
currently trading at AU$12.56 down by 1.10%.
Next, we take a look at Sonic Healthcare.
Its shares traded on a strong note yesterday on 18th May as they were, up by 1.40%, outperforming
the healthcare sector which was in red. While Sonic Healthcare did not make any new announcements
on ASX except for its daily buy-back notice, its shares moved higher. It has been on a
gaining streak for the last five days, up about 3%. With a market capitalisation of
about 17 billion shares, its shares trade in the 52-week price range of AU$32.12 to
46.95 a share. Sonic Healthcare shares are currently trading at AU$35.96 down by 0.90%.
Next is the real estate marketing company REA Group.
By noon trade yesterday on 18th May, REA Group share was up and over 2.58%. The company seems
to be reversing the losses it made earlier this month post- release of its third quarter
financial results. While the share price dipped in the morning session yesterday as it seemed
to be a profit-booking move by investors, shares came back in the green. Meanwhile,
its market capitalisation on ASX is about AU$14 billion and shares trade in the 52-week
price range of AU$104.37 to 180.67 each. REA Group shares are currently trading at AU$109.04
down by 2.99%.
Lastly, covered from the Information technology sector is Xero, the cloud-based accounting
software provider. Xero holds a market capitalisation of AU$12.92 billion, and its share price is
quoted in the range of AU$75.8 to AU$156.65 a share. Lacking any new announcements,
Xero share price gained 0.31% yesterday on 18th May. Its latest announcement was related
to the cessation of trade for its restricted stock units. Given this fact, the only push
for those gains seems to be the gains in the overall technology sector. Meanwhile, the
share price has in the last five trade days gained over 6.3%, reversing part of the losses
made in the recent past. Xero stocks are currently trading at AU$85.23 down by 3.61%.
Now to sum it up, these Blue-Chip stocks are considered to be the safest bet on ASX. But
these stocks are facing the brunt of sharp decline in US market after recording notable
gains yesterday on 18th May. Now, with the hike in interest rates and rising inflation
it’ll be interesting to see how these ASX listed blue-chip stock fare in the future. Well,
That’s all for now. We will be back with our Buzzing Trends show to share the latest
market insights with you. Till then, Stay tuned with Kalkine TV for more stock, business
and economy related hot trends.