US Earnings Beats, Strong End to April
Paper Mandate Market & Portfolio Commentary | 01 May 2026
Fund Status:
Bal Start: $1,065,603
Bought None
Sold: None
Bal End: $1,068,275
Cash: $181,562
Market Commentary
The US market ended the month strong. The S&P 500 (+1.02%) and Nasdaq (+0.89%) surged to fresh all-time highs driven by earnings results from tech. Alphabet’s shares jumped nearly 10% following a massive beat in Google Cloud revenue and an increased capex outlook. Broader market breadth is solid with the VIX also down -10% indicating risk on sentiment.
The ASX ended its losing streak rebounding +0.74%. Materials led the pack (+2.1%), with Liontown Resources rallying +12.3%. A record high. Large caps BHP and Rio Tinto also showed gains. Most sectors finished in the green, except for Financials (-0.3%). It is only the start of the month so a lot can change. Tuesday, RBA day, will be one to watch.
Portfolio Commentary
The portfolio enjoyed a slight recovery today. WDS was down (-1.1%) while WTC (+2.4%) rode the tech tailwind from the US (thank god). COL was up (+3.7%) after their Q3 update with a 5.7% increase in volume-led sales growth (ex-tobacco). eCommerce sales posted a fantastic 24.8% growth in sales. The online business now represents 13.6% of total revenue.
Other tech holdings 360 (-0.94%), XRO (+0.66%) and MP1 (-2.4%) had mixed experiences. On the downside, SKS (-3.44%) and PC2 (-2.79%) were the worst performers. Interestly, while JDO and HMC are rate sensitive to a “higher-for-longer” environment ahead of Tuesday’s RBA meeting, one would expect them to fall. And yet they were up 1.75% and 0.40%, respectively.
Investment Activity
Did not trade.
Disclaimer: This is a paper portfolio. Content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research.