Between the Bells

A number of Australian economists are now expecting a 25-basis point rate hike in April following the release of Australian retail sales data for February indicating a rise of 0.2% for the month or 6.4% from February 2022, on the back of a 1.8% rise in January. The retail data shows consumers are still spending despite the increasing cost of living pressures down under, with $35.14bn spent last mo...

Wall Street ended Friday’s session on a positive note as investors responded to the Fed’s interest rate hike of 0.25% and signals that the Fed is near the end of its monetary tightening cycle. The positive sentiment boost from the Fed was a much-needed relief following a week of turbulence in the global banking sector. The Dow Jones rose 0.41%, the S&P500 added 0.56% and the tech heavy Nasdaq...

The Aussie share market declined 0.37% (Mon-Thu), following the recent US banking system turmoil. Additionally, the Federal Reserve increased the Fed Funds Rate by 0.25% to 4.75% - 5%, announcing a continued commitment to quantitative tightening.  In this week's wrap, Sophia covers: (0:39) Fed projections for the Fed Funds Rate (FFR) (1:33) The growing banking crisis  (2:22) The sale of Credi...

Following a volatile trading session overnight, US equities closed higher, as investors bet that the Federal Reserve may be nearing the end of its rate hiking cycle. The Dow and the S&P500 rose 0.2% and 0.3% respectively, while the Nasdaq closed just over 1% higher, as tech stocks outperformed.  European markets were lower as the Bank of England joined the Fed in hiking rates. The UK central b...

The Federal Reserve has announced a further 25 basis point rate hike, and although this was widely expected, the US stock market declined with all three major benchmarks closing around 1.6% lower. The Fed also acknowledged turmoil in the banking sector could slow the already fragile economy, which share US bank shares slide.  What to watch today: The SPI futures are suggesting that our local marke...

Wall St rallied again on Tuesday as investor optimism about the banking crisis recovering lifted stocks in the US, with shares of banks leading the charge on the second trading session this week. Investors also responded to the efforts of the US and Europe to stabilise the global banking system. The Dow Jones rose just under 1%, the S&P500 added 1.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.6% on Tues...

The ASX tumbled to a four-month low yesterday, ending the session down 1.4%, in the wake of the global banking crisis taking a new turn with global investment bank UBS agreeing to takeover troubled Swiss lender Credit Suisse. Investors are also eyeing off the all-important FOMC meeting in the US where it is expected the Federal Reserve will announce a 25-basis point rate hike at the conclusion of...

The global banking crisis took an historical turn this morning with investment bank, UBS, agreeing to buy Credit Suisse Group in a deal worth $4.5 billion to restore investor confidence in the global banking sector. The crisis worsened on Friday after a fourth bank, the First Republic bank, received a US$30 billion lifeline from a group of big banks including Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, aft...

The Aussie share market declined 2.5% (Mon-Thu), led by a 7.2% dive in energy stocks on the back of tumbling commodity prices. The price of oil was down nearly 12% this week, driven by turmoil in the global banking sector. On the flip side Healthcare stocks provided great opportunity for investors, adding 0.74% this week so far.  In this week's wrap, Grady covers: (0:38) The Silicon Valley Ba...

Global markets advanced after Credit Suisse announced that it’ll borrow up to nearly $54 billion from the Swiss National Bank to assure short-term liquidity. Despite concerns weighing on the banking sector, all three US indexes closed in the green, on pace to end the week higher. The Nasdaq was up the most, rallying 2.5%.  Investors also followed the announcement of a further rate hike of 50-basis...

The local market rallied 0.86% yesterday as investors regained confidence was restored by a rally on Wall Street on Tuesday. Information technology stocks led the local rally yesterday, while energy stocks were sold off amid a decline in commodity prices. The best performing stocks on the local index yesterday were led by Pexa Group (ASX:PXA) jumping over 6.4%, Link Administration Holdings (ASX:LN...

The local index dipped 1.41% amid the fallout from the SVB and Signature collapses in the US sending shockwaves throughout global markets. Investors fear the collapses are sign of what’s to come in the financial sector, which has caused a sell-off in financial stocks and sparked investors to pile into safe-haven assets like gold. The winning stocks yesterday on the ASX were unsurprisingly led by g...

The risks and aftermath of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank really echoed through markets, with shares ending mostly lower globally. Despite governments taking action to maintain confidence in the banking system, we saw global markets under pressure overnight. The news has also provoked question of whether the Federal Reserve will deliver a larger rate hike of 50-basis points this month.   On W...

The local market tumbled over 2% on Friday as investors were spooked by comments made and reiterated over a few days by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that interest rates will need to stay higher for longer, prompting further fears of a global recession. The utilities sector was the only sector to escape the broad market sell-off on Friday. The winning stocks were led by Origin Energy (ASX:OR...

The Aussie share market advanced 0.38% (Mon-Thu), shaking off some of the negative offshore macro-economic events. Meanwhile, investors fled energy and materials stocks, as these sectors fell with commodity prices, partly due to a weaker than usual demand out of China. In this week’s wrap, Grady covers: (1:08) Global macro themes impacting investments  (2:34) The Fed’s monetary tightening impact o...

The ASX rose just 0.05% yesterday as a rally for technology stocks offset sharp losses for healthcare, materials and real estate stocks. The winning stocks yesterday were led by Xero (ASX:XRO) charging 10.66% after the cloud-based software company announced it is cutting up to 800 of its staff to manage costs. New Hope Corporation (ASX:NHC) and Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) each added over 5.5% amid t...

The local market closed in the red yesterday, making the RBA-rate announcement rally very short lived as investor sentiment was dampened by Fed Chair Jerome Powell saying interest rates need to go higher for longer in order to tackle the stubbornly high inflation in the US. Energy stocks were the worst performers yesterday amid a dive in commodity prices. Nanosonics (ASX:NAN) outperformed the mark...

The ASX rallied 0.5% yesterday following the rate hike announcement as investor sentiment was boosted by hopes that the RBA is approaching the end of its tightening cycle. Every sector aside from materials stocks closed in the green yesterday. The winning stock yesterday by a mile was InvoCare (ASX:IVC) rocketing over 34% after the funeral company received a takeover offer from TPG Global at the v...

In New York overnight, equities gained in the final hour of trading, as Treasury yields rose. US markets started the week on a positive note, ahead of a busy week of economic news. Important catalysts with week include congressional testimony on Tuesday and Wednesday from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who will speak about how the central bank is thinking about inflation and rate hikes going...

The ASX rose 0.4% in the final trading session of last week, buoyed by a rally for communications services and healthcare stocks, while the REIT sector was the only sector to close in the red on Friday. For the week though, the key index posted a 0.32% loss, its fourth straight weekly loss, as sharp losses for REIT and Financial stocks offset strong gains in the energy and materials sectors. The w...

The Aussie share market declined 0.71% (Mon-Thu), with energy and materials stocks the only two sectors to close in positive territory. This week, rising commodity prices were boosted by favourable manufacturing data in China, as the country's economy reopens post-pandemic. In this week's wrap, Grady covers: (1:29) The sectors thriving in tough market conditions (3:14) What to expect fro...

Equities closed higher in New York, as traders ignored concerns over higher interest rates. The Dow gained more than 400 points or 1.25%, boosted by Salesforce shares rallying 11%, on a strong quarter and forward guidance. The S&P500 trading 0.5% higher, while the Nasdaq was down earlier in the session, however also closed up 0.5%.  Rates moved higher, with the 10-year note yield trading above...

Rising bond yields fuelled the sell-off on Wall Street overnight with the benchmark 10-year yield topping 4% for the first time since November, while the 1-year Treasury yield climbed above 5%. Investors also reassessed the outlook for tightening monetary policy and economic growth as key data has been released around the world showing inflation continues to remain stubbornly high in Europe and ot...

Wall Street had a choppy final session for the month of February before closing lower on Tuesday as investors digested a slew of economic data and corporate earnings results. Chicago’s PMI fell to 43.6 points for February from 44.3 points in January in another sign the US Fed’s aggressive rate hike stance is having impact across the country. The Dow Jones ended Tuesday’s session down 0.71%, the S&...

US equities closed in the green overnight, trying to recover some ground after the Wall Street had its worst week of the year. The Dow gained 0.2%, the S&P500 up 0.3% and the Nasdaq rose 0.6%. These moves came as Treasury yields eased, following a jump on Friday. We’re seeing a renewed focus on inflation and again seeing rates driving equities. Investors are also looking ahead to another week...