Economic and market news
In market news, the Australian Stock Exchange hit a record intraday high on Friday of 7853.1. It retreated significantly on Monday, following losses on US indices, but the outcome was still reported as a milestone moment.
In economic news, the Australian economy grew by just 0.2 per cent in the December quarter of 2023, down from 0.3 per cent in the previous three months. Furthermore, the new data show that annual growth in the year to end-December quarter slowed to 1.5 per cent, from 2.1 per cent in the year to end-September. This means that growth slowed in every quarter in 2023.
The slowdown was attributed to households cutting back on non-essential activities like dining out and buying new clothes, as the cost of living continued to rise and significant increases in interest rates impacted homeowners.
Outside the pandemic, the December outturn was the lowest rate of growth since 2000, when the dotcom crash caused a sharp slowdown in economic activity.
GDP per capita fell for a third consecutive quarter as Australia’s 2.4 per cent population growth rate continued to outstrip economic growth.
Australian indices
ASX 200: Was down 0.15 per cent over the week to close at 7712.5 points on Tuesday.
All Ordinaries: Was down 0.19 per cent in the period, closing at 7973.0 points on Tuesday.
Government Bonds
Government Bond Yields (Source: Bloomberg)
|
NAME |
COUPON |
PRICE |
YIELD |
1 DAY |
1 MONTH |
1 YEAR |
|
GTAUD2Y:GOV Australia Bond 2 Year Yield |
0.25
|
94.40 |
3.69% |
0 |
-14 |
+34 |
|
GTAUD5Y:GOV Australia Bond 5 Year Yield |
2.75 |
96.27 |
3.61% |
0 |
-17 |
+23 |
|
GTAUD10Y:GOV Australia Bond 10 Year Yield |
3.00 |
92.45 |
3.94% |
-1 |
-22 |
+36 |
|
GTAUD15Y:GOV Australia Bond 15 Year Yield |
3.25 |
89.74 |
4.15% |
-1 |
22 |
+27 |
Reserve Bank of Australia (Source:RBA)
|
RBA CASH RATE TARGET (RBATCTR:IND) CURRENT (per cent) |
MOST RECENT DECISION (percentage points) |
MOST RECENT CHANGE (percentage points) |
1 YEAR PRIOR (per cent) |
|
4.35 |
+0 (6 February 2024) |
+0.25 (7 November 2023) |
3.35 |
Currencies (source:RBA)
As at the close on 12 March, the AUD/USD was up 1.74 per cent, over the week, closing at 0.6615 on Tuesday. The AUD/RMB was up 1.45 per cent, in the period, closing at 4.7479 on Tuesday.
Venture Capital
Exonate
Stoic investee Exonate announced that the full data from its Phase Ib/IIa clinictrial of the EXN407 eye drop successfully demonstrated its safety and biological activity. In addition to meeting the primary safety and tolerability endpoints, the study apparently also indicates promising biological responses. This means that it is positioned for further development as the first-in-class topical treatment for diabetic retinopathy and macular oedema, both common causes of vision loss. Plans to advance EXN407 to the CLEAR-DM Phase IIb clinical trial are underway.
Wildlife drones
Stoic investee Wildlife Drones announced that it has received the AAUS Industry Champion Award 2024 in the Innovation Technology category.
Property
This week, new data show that the national auction clearance rate was fairly stable, after a run of soft weeks. The preliminary clearance rate for the week was 72.8 per cent, slightly up on last week’s 71.8 per cent.
