The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) closed last week essentially flat, losing 0.5% since Monday, but still finishing the week well over 7,000 points. However, with April now in the rearview mirror, we can now say that the ASX just finished a top month, enjoying a ~3.5% boost. It was the seventh month of gains in a row for the ASX 200, a streak not seen since 2019.
We saw some reshuffling of the big ASX blue chips over the week. Gold miners had a shocker, with big names like Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) falling 6.5%. Tech shares were also on the nose, with sector leaders Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) leading the way.
But in other sectors, the losses were more mixed. Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) fell over the week, as did Woolworth Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) after a poorly received quarterly update. But Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) was a solid ASX 200 performer, rising close to 4% over the week.
Another notable loser was JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH), which had its CEO poached by Solomon Lew's Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV). Clearly, the market thinks this is JB's loss and Solly's gain, given the former shed more than 7% last week.
The banks were more or less flat, while the big miners like BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) had pretty decent weeks on the back of strong iron ore prices (which recently hit US$200 a tonne). Of those miners, Fortescue was the standout performer with a gain of more than 4%. It also managed to add 13% over the month of April.
It's worth mentioning that we also saw some blockbuster results across the Pacific last week, with some of the world's biggest companies delivering expectation-smashing results. Most prominently, these included Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN).
How did the markets end the week?
As we flagged earlier, the ASX 200 had a fairly flat week, dropping 0.49% from 7,060.7 points to 7,025.8 points over the week. Monday and Tuesday got things off on the wrong foot, with back-to-back losses of 0.21% and 0.17% respectively. Wednesday reversed this trend with a 0.44% gain, which was supplemented by another 0.25% gain on Thursday. But Friday's 0.49% loss cemented the week's overall trend and ensured the ASX 200 finished in the red.
Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) also had a fairly lousy week overall. The All Ords started out at 7,320.7 points and finished up at 7,290.7 points, a loss of 0.41%.
Which ASX 200 shares were the biggest winners and losers?
Time now for our most salacious segment, where we indulge in some gossip over the ASX 200's winners and losers. So boil the kettle on as we start with the losers:
| Worst ASX 200 losers | % loss for the week |
|---|---|
| Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) | (23.7%) |
| St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) | (11.3%) |
| Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC) | (10.2%) |
| Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL) | (10.2%) |
The ASX 200's wooden spooner last week was oil company Beach Energy. Beach had a clanger, losing close to a quarter of its entire market capitalisation. This was sparked by a quarterly update on Friday, which flagged major production issues at one of its oil-producing facilities. Investors were evidently not impressed.
St Barbara was the ASX gold miner which copped the worst of last week's selloff in the sector. In addition to a falling gold price, which was behind the weakness in the entire sector last week, St Barbara was also hit by another poorly received quarterly update last week. With costs rising and output falling at the gold miner, investors couldn't find much to like.
Nickel Mines was also hit by a very similar issue, also reporting a quarterly update that revealed lower nickel production.
And finally, habitual loser Nuix hit yet another new record low last week, despite no major news out of the company. Nuix shares are now down almost 50% from their December initial public offering (IPO) levels.
With all of that gloom out of the way, let's now take a look at last week's winning ASX 200 shares:
| Best ASX 200 gainers | % gain for the week |
|---|---|
| NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF) | 14.7% |
| Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd (ASX: CWY) | 9.6% |
| Cimic Group Ltd (ASX: CIM) | 8.9% |
| Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA) | 8.6% |
The best ASX 200 share last week was health insurance giant NIB Holdings. NIB impressed investors mightily with a trading update last week, which outlined an improved outlook for the second half of the financial year than what the company had previously flagged. Investors do like these things to be under promised and over delivered, so no surprise NIB was rewarded with a healthy jump of almost 15%.
Cleanaway Waste also had a top week, breaking its own 52-week high in the process. That was despite news that its proposed takeover of the French waste giant Suez would mostly not go ahead. The markets didn't seem to mind too much, since Cleanaway shares rose almost 10% for the week.
Construction company Cimic was also in the good books. It posted a raft of updates over Wednesday and Friday, which included a quarterly update and a contract win announcement. Investors liked what they saw.
Finally, once again a quarterly update was behind Viva Energy's share price gains over the week. The fuel refiner has been enjoying rising fuel volumes in recent months, which were dominated by gains in the high-margin premium fuels market.
A wrap of the ASX 200 blue-chip shares
Before we go, here is a look at the major ASX 200 blue-chip shares as we start on yet another week in paradise:
| ASX 200 company | Trailing P/E ratio | Last share price | 52-week high | 52-week low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) | 36.08 | $271.16 | $320.42 | $242 |
| Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) | 19.8 | $89.04 | $90.59 | $58.01 |
| Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) | 39.21 | $24.98 | $25.52 | $14.91 |
| Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) | 23.74 | $28.74 | $29.55 | $15.07 |
| National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) | 24.57 | $26.66 | $27.10 | $15.11 |
| Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) | 8.51 | $22.59 | $26.40 | $10.61 |
| Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) | 35.08 | $39.30 | $42.57 | $33.82 |
| Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) | 32.63 | $54.11 | $56.40 | $35.76 |
| BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) | 26.95 | $47.70 | $50.93 | $29.17 |
| Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) | 15.68 | $121.15 | $130.30 | $80.10 |
| Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) | 20.75 | $16.32 | $19.26 | $14.95 |
| Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) | 22.75 | $3.39 | $3.54 | $2.66 |
| Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) | – | $14.17 | $15.64 | $12.36 |
| Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) | – | $6.19 | $7.49 | $4.99 |
| Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) | 17.19 | $26.52 | $38.15 | $23.08 |
| Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) | – | $22.86 | $27.60 | $16.80 |
| Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) | 24.24 | $160.49 | $161.48 | $93.62 |
| Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) | – | $117.65 | $160.05 | $27.72 |
And finally, here is the lay of the land for some leading market indicators:
- S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) at 7,025.8 points.
- All Ordinaries Index (XAO) at 7,290.7 points.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average at 33,875 points after falling 0.54% on Friday night (our time).
- Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) going for US$56,775 per coin.
- Gold (spot) swapping hands for US$1,769 per troy ounce.
- Iron ore asking US$184 per tonne.
- Crude oil (Brent) trading at US$66.76 per barrel.
- Australian dollar buying 77.22 US cents.
- 10-year Australian Government bonds yielding 1.69% per annum.
That's all folks. See you next week!
