Market Updates

 ASX 200 closed up 91 points at 7115 (1.3%) reversing the 110-point BoJ inspired loss of yesterday. Gains across the board although the banks were slightly muted but then they didn’t fall yesterday. CBA slid 0.6% and the Big Bank Basket square again. Insurers rose on higher bond yields. REITs too rose bouncing back on the same bond yields. QBE up 1.5% and SUN up 2.1% with GMG bouncing 2.3% and MGR up 2.4%. Healthcare bounced somewhat anaemically, CSL mustering a 0.5% rise. Industrials slightly higher but no great oomph! TCL up 0.4%, REA bounced 2.0% and DHG under pressure again down 1.2%. The action was in the resources as BHP rose 2.4%, RIO up 1.7% and FMG rallying 3.0%. Lithium stocks were mixed despite 30% higher prices from PLS but cost overruns for expansion hampered sentiment. Gold miners were the stand outs as bullion ran again, NST up 4.0%, SBM up 8.0% and NCM up 6.5%. Screaming ahead, maybe more USD weakness ahead. Energy stocks also back in favour, WDS up 2.7%, KAR up 4.2% and STO doing well. Coal stocks were a merry old soul, WHC up 4.5%. Tech better but not shooting the lights out. In corporate news, ORG up 6.6% as DD on track. TLS and TPG got knocked back on the network sharing agreement. On the economic front, ANZ Roy Morgan consumer sentiment still weighing and daily home value index shows some mixed results. In Asian markets, HK flat, China up 0.1% with Japan down 0.6%. 10-year yields up to 3.74%. No one seems to care today though.

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US markets finished higher after a choppy session, as the shock from the Bank of Japan’s sudden move was felt throughout global markets. The Dow Jones climbed 92 points (+28%). At worst it was down 108 points and at best it was up 235 points. The NASDAQ traded in a narrow range and finished the session up 0.01%, the S&P 500 gained 0.10%. In Europe, STOXX 600 was down 0.4%, FTSE up 0.1%, DAX down 0.4%, and France down 0.35%. SPI Futures are up 58 points (+0.83%), despite soft leads from the US.

In commodities, base metals rallied overnight thanks to the US dollar weakening helping make dollar-priced metals cheaper for buyers using other currencies. Nickel, zinc, and tin leading the charge up 3.43%, 2.14%, and 1.83%, respectively. Aluminium up 0.19% finding support from a weakening US dollar and a steep fall in inventories tradable on the LME. Oil prices mixed, brent crude down 0.57% and WTI up 1.16%. Coal was unchanged, natural gas took a massive hit down 8.93%. Gold rose 1.68%, recovering some of yesterday's losses. Bitcoin had a good night up 1.93%.

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ASX 200 crashed 110 points to 7024 (1.5%) today on a killer combo of weaker US, RBA minutes and the shock of the BoJ effectively letting rates drift higher. 10-year yields jumped to 3.71% and banks at least held their ground on the jump but everything else, well Split Enz summed it up. I See Red! Maybe more Martha with no where to run, no where to hide. Except banks with the Big Bank Basket unchanged at $182.68  MQG fell hard 1.6%, Insurers better, just, Fund managers turned lower, MFG down another 2.0%, AMP off 1.5%.  Healthcare in ICU with CSL down 0.9% and FPH off 2.0%, RHC down 2.5% and RMD easing back. REITS were smashed on higher interest rates, GMG down 4.5%, SCG off 3.8% and DXS down 2.4%. Old skool platform stocks dropped hard as DHG revealed surprisingly weak listing numbers. REA followed down 7.7% and CAR off 3.3% with SEK not found off 5.5%. Industrials hit hard, WES down 3.4%, ALL off 4.5% and DMP falling 4.0%. Resources though bore the brunt of the sell off. Holding in for so long it was only natural, that ice would melt and so would BHP off 1.6%, FMG slid 1.5% and lithium and base metal stocks saw sellers back ready or not. PLS down 4.2% and S32 off 2.4%. Energy stocks too ran out with WDS off 1.2% and WHC down 2.6%. In corporate news, DHG whacked 9.1% with NEC, on update. BWX returned and wished they hadn’t falling 53.2%. JLG cratered 12.3% as the COO sold 4m shares to ‘diversify his risk’.  CCX freaked out falling 31.4% on volatile demand. BHP extended its DD on OZL for another week. Someone is working over Xmas. In economic news, consumer confidence end 2022 on a weak note. Maybe a middle D.  The RBA minutes showed could have been anything. BoJ raised rates! 10 year yields soared, Asian markets slapped down.

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Stocks in the US have fallen for a fourth consecutive day as traders continue to assess The Fed’s plan following the central bank’s comments vowing to keep raising rates until they’re confident inflation is coming down meaningfully. The Dow Jones closed down 163 points (-0.49%). At best it was up 118, and at worst it was down 338. The S&P 500 fell 0.9%, and the NASDAQ was down -0.76%. In Europe, Stoxx 50 +0.2% FTSE +0.4% DAX +0.4% CAC +0.3%. SPI Futures are down 27 points (-0.38%).

Markets are still wary following the Fed’s comments last week, and other central banks maintaining a hawkish tone. Adding to this, former New York Fed President William Dudley said optimistic markets could only make the central bank tighten further. While the US home builder sentiment for December fell to levels not seen in the last 10 years, besides during the pandemic. With high mortgage rates and construction costs factoring into the reading. US bond yields were up overnight, with the 10-year yield up 11bps and the 2-year yield up 8.6bps. The USD was relatively unchanged for the session, up only 0.02%, while the AUD is slowly recovering, up 0.15% to 66.96c.

• Wall Street falls as recession worries persist.
• EU countries agree gas price cap to contain energy crisis.
• Binance's books are a black box, filings show, as crypto giant tries to rally confidence.
• Oil rises on hopes for China's economy; recession fears limit gains.
• EU countries vote to weaken law on methane emissions.
• Shareholders of gas group Uniper approve German bailout.
• Gold inches lower in thin trading on higher yields.
• Copper rises as China pledges economic support.
• Bankman-Fried to agree to U.S. extradition in about-face after Bahamas hearing.
• Nike sales may soar as discounts draw shoppers; margin squeeze looms.

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ASX 200 closed down 15 points to 7134 (0.2%). Volumes starting to thin out pre Xmas. Not a bad performance considering US falls. Resources once again finding support with BHP, RIO and FMG all in the green. Gold miners too showing good strength today with NST up 3.4%, EVN up 4.3% and NCM down 0.3% on news of the CEO retiring. Lithium stocks trying hard and failing in places to find support. Oil and gas stocks better as oil prices rising in Asia. WDS up 0.4% and coal stocks ahead, WHC up 3.1% and YAL better by 2.3%. Base metals stocks better too. Banks were mixed but more drift than pressure, CBA down % with the Big Bank Basket down to $182.86 (0.3%). Insurers fell despite 10-year yields picking up. SUN down 0.3% and QBE down 0.9%. Healthcare fell led by CSL off 1.1% and RMD down 0.9%. Industrials mainly weaker, COL off 1.3%, ALL off 2.0% and SGR getting smashed on NSW tax changes down 17.8%. REITs fell on higher rates, GMG off 1.7% and MGR down 1.4%. Tech eased at the close, XRO off 0.4% and the Index down 0.4 %. In corporate news, STX made a scrip play for WGO, MCR saw Wyloo emerge as a near 20% holder. PRN rose 10.6% on a decent update, GMD saw some director buying.  BWX has downgraded its earnings and has replaced the chair but still remains suspended. David Jones has been sold to Anchorage PE. In economic news, not much to get excited about but in some positive political news, Penny Wong is heading to China. Asian markets slightly lower, 10 year yields up to 3.51%

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US markets finished a volatile week lower overnight as the Fed’s hawkish tone weighed on sentiment. The Dow Jones fell 282 points (-0.85%). At best it was down just 36 points, and at worst it was down 548 points. The NASDAQ lost 0.97% and the S&P 500 finished down 1.12%. In Europe, STOXX 600 was down 1.20%, FTSE was down 1.27%, DAX was down 0.67%, and France was down 1.08%. SPI Futures are down 27 points (-0.38%) this morning, following a 54-point loss yesterday.

In commodities, base metals were mostly lower with zinc falling 4.0%. Nickel and tin both finished higher. Oil prices fell overnight, Brent crude was down 2.77% and WTI was down 2.24%, but finished the week 4.60% higher. Gold rose overnight despite a stronger USD. Iron ore fell in China, down 3.66%, with the COVID saga continuing.

• Fed could push rates higher, keep them there longer, policymakers say
• Wall Street ends lower for third straight day as recession worries rise
• Goldman to cut thousands of staff as Wall Street layoffs intensify
• Elon Musk's Twitter suspension of journalists draws global backlash
• Russia fires scores of missiles in one of its biggest attacks on Ukraine
• FTX’s Bankman-Fried could face long road to fraud trial
• U.S. defense policy bill could make it harder to ship fuel in crises
• PepsiCo to roll out 100 Tesla Semis in 2023
• Opposition to U.S. school vaccine mandates rose during pandemic
• Oil drops by over $2/bbl, dogged by recession fears
• Speculators raise U.S. crude oil net longs-CFTC
• No evidence of space aliens so far in the Pentagon's UFO deep-dive

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Stocks across the global financial markets took a hit after a week of rate hikes from central banks around the world, with the Fed and ECB signalling more pain to come.  The Dow Jones closed down 764 points (-2.25%). At best it was up -193, and at worst it was down -950. The S&P 500 fell 2.49%, and the NASDAQ was down 3.23%. In Europe, Stoxx 50 -3.5% FTSE -0.9% CAC -3.1% DAX -3.3%. SPI Futures are down 71 points (-1.06%). Hard contraction from Wednesday’s rally.

It was a complete reversal of the CPI rally we had early in the week overnight. Markets went risk-off, and the USD Index rallied with the hopes of the Fed cutting rates next year slashed. But Morgan Stanley’s chief economist is not buying the Fed’s latest message and sees a peak rate of 4.50-4.75%, and rate cuts late in 2023. US bond yields fell again despite the risk-off market sentiment and rallying USD. The 10-year yield was down 4.9bps and the 2-year yield was down 1.5bps. The USD Index rose 0.71%, and the Aussie Dollar fell 2.38% to 66.99c.

The Bank of England and the ECB have joined the party with a 0.50% rate rise each. Both had raised rates by 0.75% at the previous meeting. The BOE’s target rate is now 3.5%, a 14-year high, while the ECB’s target rate is 2%, which is also the highest since 2008. BoE is expected to peak rates at 4.25% and the ECB is expected to peak at least at 3%.

• ASX to plunge, Dow tumbles as soft landing hopes fade.
• YourGrocer collapses, capping disastrous year for delivery firms.
• Commodity market returns next year to rival 2021.
• Wall Street tumbles as Fed sparks recession fears.
• ECB slows rate hikes but pledges more to keep up inflation fight.
• U.S. retail sales fall after hefty gains; labor market still tight.
• Biden blacklists China's YMTC, crackdowns on AI chip sector.
• Oil prices slid 2% as dollar firms and central banks hike interest rates.
• Gold broods over Fed's higher-for-longer rate hike stance.
• JPMorgan to convert another $2 billlion of mutual funds to ETFs.
• Musk cashes out another $3.6 bln in Tesla stock.
• Ukraine general says Russia digging in for long war.

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A pretty shabby day for the ASX 200, down 47 points (-0.6%), but better than the futures had suggested his morning. Positive sectors were few and far between. Banks were so-so and resources were bad. Lithium crashed and burned after a sub-optimal BMX auction result from PLS, down 11.4%. MIN was down 4.7%, AKE was down 4.9%, and LTR fell 7.9%. Musk sells $3.58bn of Tesla shares. Market cap just dropped under US$500bn - down 55% this year. Jeff Bezos' Amazon is only down 47% this year. Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Platforms is down 66.3%. Dow Futures are up 37 points, NASDAQ Futures are down 9 points.

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• SPI Futures down 61 points.
•  The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 142.29 points, or 0.42%, to 33,966.35. The S&P 500 declined 0.61% to 3,995.32. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.76% to 11,170.89. 
•  Markets gyrated after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled more data was needed before the central bank would meaningfully change its view of inflation. The Dow fell as much as 404.47 points, after climbing 287.01 points earlier in the day. 
• FOMC sees rates rise 0.5% and the Terminal Rate up to 5.1% at the end of 2023. 
• Base metals slipped. Oil pushing higher for third day.
• Iron ore down 0.5%

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