ASX gains 1% to close at two-week high

ASX overcomes iron ore fall, exports smash records, Victoria on tenterhooks 

The ASX200 (ASX: XJO) managed to deliver another 1.0% gain on Tuesday despite the backdrop of what appears to be nine COVID-19 cases in the northern suburbs.

Whilst borders are not yet closed, Qantas (ASX: QAN) and Flight Centre (ASX: FLT) weakened in a broadly stronger market.

Utilities were the only detractor with communications and real estate both heading 1.4% higher.

The former benefitted from a spike in most marketplace companies including Carsales.com (ASX: CAR) and Domain Group (ASX: DHG), up 5.0% and 3.9% respectively.

Iron ore miners overcame yesterday’s pressure from the Chinese authorities with BHP (ASX: BHP) finishing 1% higher even as prices fell below USD$200 for the first time in several months.

Australia’s economic recovery remains driven by exports, which hit a record $36 billion in April, iron and other ores make up $16.5 billion of the total. Imports fell 1% as our borders remain shut.

TechnologyOne fighting shorters, Pepper Money falls on listing, Plenti growth continues

Government-focused Software as a Service (SaaS) platform TechnologyOne (ASX: TNE) continued its successful fightback against shorters.

It reported a 48% increase in profit to $28 million as annual recurring revenue jumped 41% to $156 million in the first half.

The result marked the 12th consecutive year of delivering record first-half profits with recurring business now over 85% of all sales.

The result was a 10% increase in the dividend and a 2.1% jump in the share price.

The latest non-bank lender Pepper Money (ASX: PPM) fell from $2.89 to $2.61 on its debut in signs the IPO market is losing steam.

Whilst the more established Plenti (ASX: PLT) saw a 64% increase in loan originations, which sent its loan book to $615 million.

Revenue increased 28% to $53 million and profit 42%, but reported a post-tax loss of just under $7 million.

The highlights were a tripling of automotive loan financing and a 33% increase in rooftop solar lending. Plenti shares fell 2.1% on the news.

US markets stumble as property prices fly, consumer confidence weaker

Quality came to the fore once again on Tuesday as global markets fell across the board, the Nasdaq down just 0.03% and both the S&P500 and Dow Jones down 0.2%.

Australia isn’t alone with our house price boom as the US reports a 13.3% annual gain across 20 major capital cities to the end of March.

Stuck at home consumers have increasingly been looking to upgrade their houses.

Consumer confidence also fell from elevated levels as experts suggest inflation concerns and slowing employment impacted.

Fintech player Square Payments (NASDAQ: SQ) is taking a different route to profitability after announcing the decision to begin offering cheque and savings account to their customers.

This comes after the company has completely disrupted the way small businesses deliver their services.

In a sign of how far the market has come, a FOMO ETF, standing for Fear of Missing Out, was launched this week. It will invest in so-called meme stocks and popular SPAC listings.