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Posted: 2023-07-17 00:42:46

The ASX200 failed to maintain the momentum that drove it to four straight sessions of gains last week, with sectors mixed in the morning ahead of China’s gross domestic product (GDP) data. China’s second-quarter economic numbers came in weaker than expected and consumer spending eased in June, boosting concerns about the nation’s recovery.

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Asian markets struggled in response, and Australian materials stocks fell by close to 1 per cent.

Consumer and technology stocks went some way to offsetting this, with the information technology sector gaining 0.9 per cent for the session and WiseTech Global ahead by just over 2 per cent. Retail conglomerate Wesfarmers was ahead by 0.6 per cent, while electronics retailer Kogan was up 6 per cent to $5.72.

Health insurer Medibank was one of the major winners of the day, up 4 per cent to $3.49 after Citi analysts lifted their estimates of earnings per share.

The health sector lifted throughout the session but ended the day down by 0.2 per cent thanks to CSL shares dipping by 0.8 per cent to $258.82.

Optimism still persists about slowing interest rate hikes, but analysts will have an eye on more global economic data this week, including US retail sales figures, company earnings and a UK inflation read out due later this week.

RBA meeting minutes for July are also set to be released on Tuesday, while labour force data is due on Thursday.

Morgan Stanley analysts expected Australian employment growth to slow but remain relatively strong.

“We expect [the] participation rate to remain steady at 66.9 per cent and unemployment rate at 3.6 per cent,” they said.

Quote of the day

“There is still a great deal of detail to work through including implementation timelines – and so it is very difficult to speculate on the impact of these reforms at this time.”

That’s Dan Murphy’s operator, Endeavour Group, responding to the Victorian government’s proposed poker machine reforms. Endeavour shares hit their lowest levels since the demerger from Woolworths as analysts warned about the possible impacts of the new regulations.

Tweet of the day

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The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.

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