End of Day – Mon 18 Jul

•  ASX 200 kicks 82 points to 6666 (1.2%) as bank rally after Citi results and iron ore steadies in Asia, giving BHP a 2.4% lift. Late kick helps too, with 25 points on match out. The Miners were better across the board with RIO up 2.1% and FMG up 3.4%. Base metals doing well, S32 up 2.1% and IGO up 4.4% and lithium stocks doing well, LTR up 8.4%, INR better by 5.8% and PLS rallying 2.5%. Oil and gas better again as crude rises after Biden fails to get much from MBS. STO up 2.4% and WDS up another 2.2%. Coal stocks again pushed up as thermal coal doing well, WHC released a business update, very positive up 5.2% and NHC up 2.9%. Banks were in demand despite ANZ tapping shareholders for $3.5bn to buy SUN’s banking business kicking them up a notch. ANZ is paying $5bn for the unit, the Big Bank Basket rallied to $166.24 (1.8%) with only three legs firing. CBA up 1.0% and NAB up 1.9%. MQG doing well as US banks rally, up 3.2%. SUN up 6.1% on the ANZ news, insurers slightly better. Healthcare was weaker as money flowed into growth and risk, CSL down 0.9%, FPH down 1.9%. Industrials were mostly flat, tech better WTC kicked again up 7.2% and XRO up 2.0%. The All-Tech Index rose 2.5%. 
• In corporate news, NXL fell 13.0% on its update sinking toward an ignominious end perhaps, PPS rose 10.6% on a business update and TYR rose 7.7% as its #122 CV19 update dropped. Nothing on the economic front. Asian markets firmed with Japan closed for Marine Day and both China and HK doing well as property developers being helped with bank loans. 10-year yields 3.42%. 

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