Market Updates

Wall Street ended in the green following a choppy session as the Fed announced rates would remain steady, as expected. Chip stocks boosted the market with a late rally after a report suggested regulations may be eased. S&P 500 up 0.43%, NASDAQ up 0.27%. Dow rose at the open, dropped after the Fed announcement, and then recovered close to earlier highs. Ended 285 points up. Most sectors up. Tech worst performer. Dragged down by Alphabet (-7.3%) after Apple (-1.1%) said it may integrate AI for Safari in the future which would hurt Google searches. Cyclicals best performing. Boosted by Amazon (+2.0%) as it unveiled Vulcan, robotic device with a sense of touch. Healthcare second best performer, recovering some of the previous session’s losses. Chip stocks boosted by easing regulation hopes. Nvidia (+3.1%), ASML (+3.0%), Qualcomm (+3.1%). Disney (+10.9%) jumped on strong earnings growth from Disney+ and theme parks. Ford (-1.5%) down as it announced price increases on Mexico built cars and suspended earnings guidance. Resources down. Stronger USD hurt. Lead and iron ore the exceptions. Iron ore boosted by US-China talks and hopes of Chinese stimulus.

ASX to rise. SPI futures up 8 points (+0.1%).

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Another solid day with the ASX 200 up 27 points to 8178 (+0.3%). NAB (+1.6%) results helped, but the news of Bessent heading for a Swiss showdown with Chinese counterparties on trade, popped US futures higher and commodity stocks were back on. China also cut rates.  BHP up 0.9% with RIO up 0.6%. Gold miners were solid on bullion’s rise, SPR up 0.9%, and VAU doing better, up 3.3%. NST fell 2.6% though with WGX up 2.9%. Lithium stocks better, LTR up 7.8% on WA loans, PLS rallied 4.8% and MIN up 2.6%. LYC slipped as US/China relations improved. Oil and gas stocks also bounced. WDS up 1.7% and STO up 2.0%. Uranium stocks were once again in demand as shorts continue to cover, BOE updated the market and ran hard, up 12.4%. PDN up 4.4%. Banks stalled with the Big Bank Basket flat at $263.60. NAB (+1.6%) the standout and CBA (-0.5%) the problem child. Other financials doing well. MQG rose 0.9% despite news from ASIC on serious breaches. ASX up 2.5% and PNI up 4.3%. ZIP presented at the Macquarie conference and rose 13.0%. Industrials were mixed, CSL fell 3.0% with TLX down too but RMD up 0.9%. REITs were positive. Tech slipped, XRO down 0.3% and WTC off 0.4%. The index slipping 0.2%. Retail recovered from early JBH losses, PMV up 2.6% and TPW on an update rose 8.0%.

In corporate news, no real bad news from Macquarie Conference. NXL slammed 16.0% on an uncertain update, KLS ran hard, up 18.3%, on a positive briefing. On the economic front, all eyes on the Fed and China stimulated again with more rate cuts. 

Asian markets slightly positive. Japan up 0.5%. 10-year yields steady at 4.29%. Dow futures up 0.5%, NASDAQ futures up 0.6%.

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Wall Street ended in the red as comments by Trump and Bessent were vague about when trade deals will be announced. S&P 500 down 0.77%, NASDAQ down 0.87%. Dow dropped at the open, rose into the green during the day, and slipped again before the close. Ended 390 points down, near low. All sectors red except Utilities and Energy. Utilities benefitted from drop in yields. Energy followed oil up from four year low. Healthcare worst performing sector. Down on tariff fears. Big names like Eli Lilly (-5.6%) and Merck (-4.6%) led losses. AMD down 2.0% ahead of earnings call which it beat. Down 0.7% in after hours trading. Tesla down 1.8% along with rivals Lucid (-1.3%) and Rivian (-0.4%) as the two EV makers flagged rising costs in earnings reports. Resources primarily up. Nickel, Copper, Tin all up. Lithium and Natural Gas down.

ASX to fall. SPI futures down 31 points (-0.38%). US futures up sugnificantly

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The ASX 200 fell for the second straight session, recovering from early lows, dropping 6 points to 8151 (-0.1%). Mixed sector performance. Healthcare worst performing sector. Pulled down by two biggest names. CSL (-2.5%) down as it flagged vaccine scepticism in US as a challenge. SIG (-6.7%) down after it took a $42.4m hit in transaction costs so far in FY25. Disappointment of WBC (-2.0%) earnings continued to weigh on Banks and broader index. CBA flat, Big Bank Basket down to $263.69 (0.6%). Other financials fared better. MQG (+0.8%) up as its conference kicked off. Also up are RPL (+0.9%), XYZ (+0.7%). REITs up as RBA rate decision draws nearer. Two weeks today. GMG up 0.2%, MGR up 0.9%. Tech more mixed. WTC down 2.2% as it stayed quiet on guidance give tariff difficulties. NXT jumped 8.3% as it smashed utilisation record on AI demand. Added to Growth on Friday.

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Wall Street's recent winning streak came to an end with all the major indices were down as optimism on trade negotiations faltered after Trump said he’d lower tariffs on China “at some point” and announced a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the US. Ended nine straight day of gains for S&P 500. Down 0.64%, NASDAQ down 0.74%. Dow dropped at the open, rose into the green during the day, and slipped again before the close. Ended 99 points down, middle of its range. All sectors red. Energy worst performer. Followed oil down as OPEC+ announced plans to hike output while forecasted demand falters. Oil now at four year low. Consumer Cyclicals also one of worst performing sectors. Amazon (-1.9%) and Tesla (-2.4%) drags. Amazon down following slightly disappointing earnings last week. Same with Apple (-3.1%). Tesla’s rally post-earnings slowed as auto industry group in Spain said Tesla sales declined while EV sales rose. AMD (+1.8%) up ahead of their earnings tomorrow morning. Anticipation of good results. Palantir (-0.4%) down 8.6% after hours following a disappointing earnings call. Berkshire Hathway (-5.1%) also down as Buffet announced he will step away from CEO role at the end of the year despite remaining Chairman. LME was closed yesterday. 

ASX to fall. SPI futures down 21 points (-0.26%). Gold up 3% - Oil falls

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The ASX 200 started the week giving back 80 points to 8158 (1%) as the bank rally faded post WBC results. Slightly underwhelming and lack of growth to blame. WBC fell 3.0% taking CBA down 1.6% and the Big Bank Basket down to $265.29 (1.7%). MQG followed the other lower down 1.8% ahead of numbers Friday. Other financials gave up early gains, with RPL and XYZ, two of the only winners. REITs also slipped led by GMG down 2.2% and MGR off 0.9% with industrials also weaker. Retail sagged, PMV down 3.4% and APE off 3.1% with MYR down 3.5%. Defensives such as TLS slid 1.1% and REA down 1.8%. Resources held up better with BHP down only 0.9% and RIO off 0.9% despite rising Iron ore prices in Singapore. Gold miners were mixed, GOR jumped 9.4% on the takeover by Goldfields, NST up 0.4% and EVN up 2.1% with BGL rallying 2.2%. Lithium stocks were flat, LYC up 1.8% and oil and gas stocks crumbling in the face of oils fall. WDS down 3.6% and STO off 4.0%. Uranium stocks mixed, NXG down 4.6% and BOE up 0.8%. In corporate news, TYR pulled out of SMP talks, PLY dumped after CEO retires wounded. RWC warned on tariffs and fell 2.4% with EDV forecasting flat to modest retail sales growth. Nothing on the economic front. In Asia, China and Japan closed for a holiday. 10-year yields pushing higher to 4.26%.

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Wall St rose Friday to record its 9th straight positive session. Boosted by US/China trade talk and economic data. Dow up 564 points closing near the high. S&P 500 up 1.47%. Nasdaq up 1.51%. For the week, S&P 500 up 2.9%, Nasdaq up 3.4%. The ASX 200 rose 3.39%, best week since December 2023.

Non-farm payrolls came in at 177k on Friday, lower than 185k in March but well above forecasts for a 130k rise. Eased recession concerns. The survey was taken one week after tariffs were implemented and the market was expecting worse. Wage growth came in slightly below forecasts and factory orders jumped (close to estimates).

Bond yields jumped on the jobs report. US 10Y 9.3bp. 2Y up 12.7bp. AU 10Y up 8.8bp despite no change to the odds of a 20 May RBA rate cut (60%). USD index down a touch. Just after the close on Friday Trump announced plans to cut $163bn from the budget comprising a 23% reduction in non-defence discretionary spending. Education, housing, medical research and environmental protection the losers. Defense and border security the winners.

SPI up 32 - WBC Results - OPEC Plus increases supply

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The ASX 200 kicked another 93 points higher to 8238 (1.1%) as China appears to often its tactics. A big kick in US futures on the news helped. Banks led the way higher for a change. The Big Bank Basket up to $269.96 (+1.6%) ahead of the results kicking off next week. CBA up 1.4% and WBC playing some catch-up up rising 1.9%. MQG finally joined in, and other financials did ok with the exception of XYZ, which cratered 26.7% on a downgrade and disappointing earnings. REITs continued higher led by GMG up 1.4% and SCG up 0.6%. Industrials continued to find strength, WOW up 2.3% and COL up 2.1% with WES up 1.2%. Retail took a breather, but tech was mixed with WTC looking at a potential US acquisition up 0.7%. The All-Tech Index down 0.9% as CPU weighs. Off 4.1%. Travel stocks sold down after CTD issued a warning, off 10.0% dragging WEB down 4.2%. Resources initially languished buy bucked up as China news came through, BHP up 0.7% and FMG rallying 1.1%. Gold miners also picked up with news that GOR had gone into a halt pending a takeover offer potentially, NST finding a base up 0.7% and EVN up 2.9% on copper rallies too. MIN rallied 0.8% with LYC under a little pressure still on Ukraine moves and China holding a olive branch. Oil and gas better, WDS up 2.0% ahead of OPEC+ meeting Monday, uranium stocks continue to push ahead as shorts cover, PDN up 2.8% and BOE up 5.3%. In corporate news, CSC jumped 2.8% on record revenues. On the economic front, retail trade rose 0.3% MoM. Asian markets rose, Japan up 1.2%, HK up 1.6% and China closed for a holiday. 10-year yields steady at 4.22%

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 83.60 points, or 0.21%, to close at 40,752.96. The S&P 500 gained 0.63% to end at 5,604.14, still slightly below its levels from before President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs announcement in early April. The Nasdaq Composite increased 1.52%, to close at 17,710.74 and wipe out the decline it experienced since April 2.

Weekly jobless claims increased 241,000, topping the Dow Jones estimate of 225,000 and keeping Thursday’s bullishness in check. That result stoked economic concerns after a disappointing gross domestic product report for the first quarter. The unemployment data also raises the stakes for April’s nonfarm payrolls reading on Friday.

SPI down 32 - Apple and Amazon down slightly after hours on quarterlies - Block tumbles - Atlassian drops - Gold eases - Oil rises.

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The ASX 200 kicked off May with a 19-point gain to 8146. Some Asian markets closed today as are some European markets. US futures showing a very positive session, given the results from Meta and Microsoft. Banks held firm with CBA up 0.4% and the Big Bank Basket flat at $265.81 (0.2%). Other financials did ok too, PTM rose 11.4% as Kerr Neilsen sold out to LSF. Merger talks are on. HUB rose 2.3% and PNI up 0.9%. MQG continue to miss out closing down 0.3%. REITs were positive, with a focus on data centres, given the Azure results from Microsoft. GMG up 3.4% and DGT up 6.3%. Industrials also in favour, WTC rallied 6.6% and XRO up 3.2% as tech found big buyers. REA up 0.4% and retail stocks continuing to find buyers. JBH up 0.8% and BAP up 2.4% with travel stocks better too. WOW and COL better too as results cheer.  Resources were in a world of pain. LYC fell 3.4% on possible moves from China, iron ore stocks dropped, BHP down 0.9% and PLS under pressure. Gold miners were mixed, NST fell another 0.8% with EVN off 1.3% as copper rallied after a sobering day yesterday. OBM bounced 3.0% and SPR rose 2.0%. Uranium stocks back in demand after a day’s rest. DYL up % with BOE up % and PDN up %. Oil and gas stocks fell, WDS down 2.6%. In corporate news, PTM was a focus with JDO chopped down to size on an update. DXB rose 41.9% on a good licensing deal. In economic news, the BoJ kept rates unchanged. Asian markets were disrupted by holidays in China. Japan up 1.1%. 10-year yields at 4.19%.

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