Mining sector surges but Australia shares lose ground
Strong gains by the mining sector haven't been enough to keep the Australian share market in the green, while the dollar has climbed to its highest level of 2025 against its faltering US counterpart.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index gave up its modest morning gains on Friday to finish on the lows of the day, losing 36.6 points, or 0.43 per cent, at 8,514.2.
The broader All Ordinaries fell 29.9 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 8,743.7.
The Aussie, meanwhile, was buying 65.50 US cents, up from 65.29 US cents on Thursday and its highest level against the greenback since mid-November.
The US dollar has weakened in recent days on concerns that President Donald Trump might lessen the independence of the Federal Reserve by appointing a more dovish "shadow" chairman before Jerome Powell's term officially expires.
The ASX200 finished the week up 0.1 per cent after a rally on Tuesday following the Iran-Israel ceasefire.
It's the ASX's sixth winning week out of the past seven.
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said shares had climbed a wall of worry over the past six months as Trump upset the global trading system with tariff hikes and as conflict in the Middle East threatened to disrupt oil supplies.
"Fortunately, Trump backed down on the worst of his tariffs for now and the Middle East threat has fizzled, leaving US, global and Australian shares just 0.7 per cent or less below record highs and on track for another financial year of strong returns," Dr Oliver said.
With one more day of trading left in 2024/25, the ASX200 is on track to deliver an annual return of 13.9 per cent, including dividends.
The materials sector rose 2.3 per cent on Friday, its best day since a 6.3 per cent gain on April 10, as iron ore prices climbed to $94.50 a tonne.
BHP advanced 3.9 per cent to $108.97, Rio Tinto gained 4.6 per cent to $108.97 and Fortescue added 3.6 per cent to $15.46.
Goldminer Northern Star dipped 2.7 per cent, but peer Evolution climbed 0.7 per cent as the yellow metal changed hands at $US3,306 an ounce.
In industrials, Reece plunged 18.7 per cent to a two and a half year low of $14.12 after the plumbing supplier said that it expected to earn between $548 million and $558 million this financial year, down from $681 million it made in 2023/24 and well below the $580 million the market was expecting.
Chairman and CEO Peter Wilson said the expected results reflected the backdrop of continuing macroeconomic headwinds, with recent interest rate cuts in Australia and New Zealand not yet translating into improved housing activity.
"We have seen similar cycles before and remain confident in our long-term approach," he added.
All of the big four banks finished lower, with CBA dropping 2.8 per cent to $185.36, Westpac retreating 1.9 per cent to $33.90, ANZ declining 1.8 per cent to $29.20 and NAB dipping 1.6 per cent to $39.26.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Friday down 36.6 points, or 0.43 per cent, at 8,514.2.
* The broader All Ordinaries dropped 29.9 per cent, to 8,743.7.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 65.50 US cents, from 65.29 US cents at 5pm on Thursday
* 94.53 Japanese yen, from 94.33 Japanese yen
* 55.96 euro cents, from 55.90 euro cents
* 47.69 British pence, from 47.65 pence
* 107.93 NZ cents, from 107.94 NZ cents
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The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Wall St gains as trade hopes feed quarterly momentum
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have scaled new heights as optimism over the US striking trade deals with its key partners fuelled the bullish momentum that has kept indexes on track for gains this quarter. The Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones have gained 17.5 per cent, 10.2 per cent and 4.6 per cent so far in the quarter, touching and then retreating from record levels since late last year, partly because of headlines around US President Donald Trump's rapid policy changes. The three indexes are still set for their weakest first-half performances since 2022, as the resulting uncertainty around policy has kept investors wary. The blue-chip Dow remains 2.3 per cent below its record closing high reached on December 4. On Monday, the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite extended their record run from last week, on bets of deeper US interest rate cuts and renewed optimism around AI. Investor focus is now on a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher but Trump has said he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter". Canada on Sunday scrapped its digital services tax targeting US tech firms, just hours before it was due to take effect, in a bid to advance stalled trade negotiations with the United States. "We've got this deadline coming but then Trump has said that the deadline can be moved. And then you've got markets thinking that the Fed could potentially cut interest rates sooner than later. So there are a lot of drivers here," said Dennis Dick, at trader at Triple D Trading Inc. "Investors are just confident here in this market right now because we've had some bad news come in, even some bad earnings reports, and they buy the stocks right back. So bulls remain in complete control." Investors are also looking into economic data and fiscal policy developments to see if the latest bull run in US stocks can continue. US Senate Republicans will try to pass Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, despite divisions within the party about its expected $US3.3 trillion ($A5 trillion) hit to the $36.2 trillion national debt. Trump wants the bill passed before the July 4 Independence Day holiday. Key economic data releases this week include monthly non-farm payrolls and the Institute for Supply Management's survey on manufacturing and services sectors for June. Several US central bank officials including Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell are scheduled to speak later this week. A raft of soft economic data and expectations that Trump will replace Powell with someone dovish have pushed up bets of rate cuts from the Fed this year. In early trading on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 178.68 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 43,998.06, the S&P 500 gained 14.13 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 6,187.20 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 44.64 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 20,318.10. Shares of big US banks rose after most cleared the Federal Reserve's annual "stress test," paving the way for billions in stock buybacks and dividends. Shares of Bank of America edged up 0.8 per cent while rivals JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo added 1.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent. Juniper Networks rose 8.3 per cent after the US Justice Department settled its lawsuit challenging server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise's all-cash acquisition of the networking gear maker for $US14 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares soared 9.6 per cent. Shares of Oracle rose 6.4 per cent after the company said the new cloud services agreement is expected to contribute more than $US30 billion to annual revenue starting in fiscal year 2028. The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 61 new highs and 37 new lows. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.56-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while by a 1.7-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have scaled new heights as optimism over the US striking trade deals with its key partners fuelled the bullish momentum that has kept indexes on track for gains this quarter. The Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones have gained 17.5 per cent, 10.2 per cent and 4.6 per cent so far in the quarter, touching and then retreating from record levels since late last year, partly because of headlines around US President Donald Trump's rapid policy changes. The three indexes are still set for their weakest first-half performances since 2022, as the resulting uncertainty around policy has kept investors wary. The blue-chip Dow remains 2.3 per cent below its record closing high reached on December 4. On Monday, the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite extended their record run from last week, on bets of deeper US interest rate cuts and renewed optimism around AI. Investor focus is now on a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher but Trump has said he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter". Canada on Sunday scrapped its digital services tax targeting US tech firms, just hours before it was due to take effect, in a bid to advance stalled trade negotiations with the United States. "We've got this deadline coming but then Trump has said that the deadline can be moved. And then you've got markets thinking that the Fed could potentially cut interest rates sooner than later. So there are a lot of drivers here," said Dennis Dick, at trader at Triple D Trading Inc. "Investors are just confident here in this market right now because we've had some bad news come in, even some bad earnings reports, and they buy the stocks right back. So bulls remain in complete control." Investors are also looking into economic data and fiscal policy developments to see if the latest bull run in US stocks can continue. US Senate Republicans will try to pass Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, despite divisions within the party about its expected $US3.3 trillion ($A5 trillion) hit to the $36.2 trillion national debt. Trump wants the bill passed before the July 4 Independence Day holiday. Key economic data releases this week include monthly non-farm payrolls and the Institute for Supply Management's survey on manufacturing and services sectors for June. Several US central bank officials including Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell are scheduled to speak later this week. A raft of soft economic data and expectations that Trump will replace Powell with someone dovish have pushed up bets of rate cuts from the Fed this year. In early trading on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 178.68 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 43,998.06, the S&P 500 gained 14.13 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 6,187.20 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 44.64 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 20,318.10. Shares of big US banks rose after most cleared the Federal Reserve's annual "stress test," paving the way for billions in stock buybacks and dividends. Shares of Bank of America edged up 0.8 per cent while rivals JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo added 1.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent. Juniper Networks rose 8.3 per cent after the US Justice Department settled its lawsuit challenging server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise's all-cash acquisition of the networking gear maker for $US14 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares soared 9.6 per cent. Shares of Oracle rose 6.4 per cent after the company said the new cloud services agreement is expected to contribute more than $US30 billion to annual revenue starting in fiscal year 2028. The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 61 new highs and 37 new lows. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.56-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while by a 1.7-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have scaled new heights as optimism over the US striking trade deals with its key partners fuelled the bullish momentum that has kept indexes on track for gains this quarter. The Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones have gained 17.5 per cent, 10.2 per cent and 4.6 per cent so far in the quarter, touching and then retreating from record levels since late last year, partly because of headlines around US President Donald Trump's rapid policy changes. The three indexes are still set for their weakest first-half performances since 2022, as the resulting uncertainty around policy has kept investors wary. The blue-chip Dow remains 2.3 per cent below its record closing high reached on December 4. On Monday, the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite extended their record run from last week, on bets of deeper US interest rate cuts and renewed optimism around AI. Investor focus is now on a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher but Trump has said he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter". Canada on Sunday scrapped its digital services tax targeting US tech firms, just hours before it was due to take effect, in a bid to advance stalled trade negotiations with the United States. "We've got this deadline coming but then Trump has said that the deadline can be moved. And then you've got markets thinking that the Fed could potentially cut interest rates sooner than later. So there are a lot of drivers here," said Dennis Dick, at trader at Triple D Trading Inc. "Investors are just confident here in this market right now because we've had some bad news come in, even some bad earnings reports, and they buy the stocks right back. So bulls remain in complete control." Investors are also looking into economic data and fiscal policy developments to see if the latest bull run in US stocks can continue. US Senate Republicans will try to pass Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, despite divisions within the party about its expected $US3.3 trillion ($A5 trillion) hit to the $36.2 trillion national debt. Trump wants the bill passed before the July 4 Independence Day holiday. Key economic data releases this week include monthly non-farm payrolls and the Institute for Supply Management's survey on manufacturing and services sectors for June. Several US central bank officials including Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell are scheduled to speak later this week. A raft of soft economic data and expectations that Trump will replace Powell with someone dovish have pushed up bets of rate cuts from the Fed this year. In early trading on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 178.68 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 43,998.06, the S&P 500 gained 14.13 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 6,187.20 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 44.64 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 20,318.10. Shares of big US banks rose after most cleared the Federal Reserve's annual "stress test," paving the way for billions in stock buybacks and dividends. Shares of Bank of America edged up 0.8 per cent while rivals JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo added 1.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent. Juniper Networks rose 8.3 per cent after the US Justice Department settled its lawsuit challenging server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise's all-cash acquisition of the networking gear maker for $US14 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares soared 9.6 per cent. Shares of Oracle rose 6.4 per cent after the company said the new cloud services agreement is expected to contribute more than $US30 billion to annual revenue starting in fiscal year 2028. The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 61 new highs and 37 new lows. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.56-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while by a 1.7-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have scaled new heights as optimism over the US striking trade deals with its key partners fuelled the bullish momentum that has kept indexes on track for gains this quarter. The Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones have gained 17.5 per cent, 10.2 per cent and 4.6 per cent so far in the quarter, touching and then retreating from record levels since late last year, partly because of headlines around US President Donald Trump's rapid policy changes. The three indexes are still set for their weakest first-half performances since 2022, as the resulting uncertainty around policy has kept investors wary. The blue-chip Dow remains 2.3 per cent below its record closing high reached on December 4. On Monday, the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite extended their record run from last week, on bets of deeper US interest rate cuts and renewed optimism around AI. Investor focus is now on a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher but Trump has said he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter". Canada on Sunday scrapped its digital services tax targeting US tech firms, just hours before it was due to take effect, in a bid to advance stalled trade negotiations with the United States. "We've got this deadline coming but then Trump has said that the deadline can be moved. And then you've got markets thinking that the Fed could potentially cut interest rates sooner than later. So there are a lot of drivers here," said Dennis Dick, at trader at Triple D Trading Inc. "Investors are just confident here in this market right now because we've had some bad news come in, even some bad earnings reports, and they buy the stocks right back. So bulls remain in complete control." Investors are also looking into economic data and fiscal policy developments to see if the latest bull run in US stocks can continue. US Senate Republicans will try to pass Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, despite divisions within the party about its expected $US3.3 trillion ($A5 trillion) hit to the $36.2 trillion national debt. Trump wants the bill passed before the July 4 Independence Day holiday. Key economic data releases this week include monthly non-farm payrolls and the Institute for Supply Management's survey on manufacturing and services sectors for June. Several US central bank officials including Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell are scheduled to speak later this week. A raft of soft economic data and expectations that Trump will replace Powell with someone dovish have pushed up bets of rate cuts from the Fed this year. In early trading on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 178.68 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 43,998.06, the S&P 500 gained 14.13 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 6,187.20 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 44.64 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 20,318.10. Shares of big US banks rose after most cleared the Federal Reserve's annual "stress test," paving the way for billions in stock buybacks and dividends. Shares of Bank of America edged up 0.8 per cent while rivals JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo added 1.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent. Juniper Networks rose 8.3 per cent after the US Justice Department settled its lawsuit challenging server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise's all-cash acquisition of the networking gear maker for $US14 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares soared 9.6 per cent. Shares of Oracle rose 6.4 per cent after the company said the new cloud services agreement is expected to contribute more than $US30 billion to annual revenue starting in fiscal year 2028. The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 61 new highs and 37 new lows. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.56-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while by a 1.7-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
US-Canada trade talks lift Wall St futures to new high
Wall Street futures have reached record highs as optimism over US trade negotiations with key partners helps boost sentiment in markets. Meanwhile, world stocks were hovering just below recent record highs and European shares had trimmed early falls. Canada said on Sunday it had rescinded its digital services tax in a bid to advance trade negotiations, bowing to pressure from US President Donald Trump. The talks are aimed at getting a deal done by July 21, extending Trump's original July 9 deadline for his "reciprocal" tariffs. Officials have suggested most deals could now be done by the September 1 Labor Day holiday. Investors were also keeping a wary eye on the progress of a huge US tax-cutting and spending bill slowly making its way through the Senate, with signs it may not make it by Trump's preferred July 4 deadline. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $3.3 trillion to the nation's debt over a decade, testing foreign appetite for US Treasuries. There was no doubting the demand for the US tech sector and megacap growth stocks including Nvidia, Alphabet and Amazon. Nasdaq futures rose another 0.5 per cent, while S&P 500 futures added 0.4 per cent, having touched record highs. "We have been surprised at just how resilient markets have been in the face of a tremendous amount of uncertainty," Kevin Gardiner, global investment strategist at Rothschild & Co, said. "Markets continue to look resilient, though we note that we haven't seen equity valuations look more expensive since 2000," he added. European stocks trimmed early falls on Monday, but were set to log gains for the quarter, while investors monitored signs of any delay on the July 9 tariff deadline, looming large. They were down just 0.1 per cent, though European defence stocks led sectoral gains with a rise of just over 1 per cent. The sector has remained buoyant since last week's NATO pledge to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on core defence and 1.5 per cent on broader defence-related measures, a jump worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Attention also turned to a European Central Bank conference in Sintra, Portugal, as well as key euro zone inflation reports due this week and the closely watched US non-farm payrolls report on Thursday. Asian markets closed on a mixed note with Chinese blue chips up 0.4 per cent, after surveys showed manufacturing improved slightly in June while service activity picked up. Hong Kong stocks closed down 0.9 per cent while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.8 per cent. A holiday on Friday means US jobs data will come a day early, with analysts forecasting a rise of 110,000 in June and a rising jobless rate reaching almost a year high at 4.3 per cent. The resilience of the labour market is a major reason the majority of Federal Reserve members say they can afford to wait on cutting rates until they can gauge the true impact of tariffs on inflation, so a weak report would stoke speculation of a rate cut in July rather than September. The prospect of policy easing has helped Treasuries weather worries on the ballooning US budget deficit. Ten-year Treasury yields fell three basis points to 4.25 per cent, having fallen seven bps last week. The dollar struggled in part over concern that tariffs and policy whipsaws from the White House will drag on economic growth. The euro steadied, having climbed more than one per cent last week to its highest levels since 2021 against a broadly weak dollar. Sterling tipped 0.1 per cent lower to just below a similar peak hit last week, trading near $1.37. The dollar was down 0.3 per cent to 144.19 yen and the dollar index eased 0.2 per cent to 97.237, a whisker above three-year lows. The dollar has fallen by more at this stage in the year than in any previous year since the US moved to a free-floating exchange rate in 1973. "At this point, further weakness could become self-reinforcing as underhedged European/Asian portfolios chase the move," James Reilly, a senior markets economist at Capital Economics, said. In commodity markets, the general revival in risk sentiment weighed on gold, which rose 0.4 per cent to $3,285 an ounce but held below April's record top of $3,500. Oil prices continued to struggle on concerns about plans for increased output from OPEC+, which contributed to a 12 per cent slide last week. Brent declined 17 cents to $67.60 a barrel, while US crude fell 26 cents to $65.26 per barrel. Wall Street futures have reached record highs as optimism over US trade negotiations with key partners helps boost sentiment in markets. Meanwhile, world stocks were hovering just below recent record highs and European shares had trimmed early falls. Canada said on Sunday it had rescinded its digital services tax in a bid to advance trade negotiations, bowing to pressure from US President Donald Trump. The talks are aimed at getting a deal done by July 21, extending Trump's original July 9 deadline for his "reciprocal" tariffs. Officials have suggested most deals could now be done by the September 1 Labor Day holiday. Investors were also keeping a wary eye on the progress of a huge US tax-cutting and spending bill slowly making its way through the Senate, with signs it may not make it by Trump's preferred July 4 deadline. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $3.3 trillion to the nation's debt over a decade, testing foreign appetite for US Treasuries. There was no doubting the demand for the US tech sector and megacap growth stocks including Nvidia, Alphabet and Amazon. Nasdaq futures rose another 0.5 per cent, while S&P 500 futures added 0.4 per cent, having touched record highs. "We have been surprised at just how resilient markets have been in the face of a tremendous amount of uncertainty," Kevin Gardiner, global investment strategist at Rothschild & Co, said. "Markets continue to look resilient, though we note that we haven't seen equity valuations look more expensive since 2000," he added. European stocks trimmed early falls on Monday, but were set to log gains for the quarter, while investors monitored signs of any delay on the July 9 tariff deadline, looming large. They were down just 0.1 per cent, though European defence stocks led sectoral gains with a rise of just over 1 per cent. The sector has remained buoyant since last week's NATO pledge to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on core defence and 1.5 per cent on broader defence-related measures, a jump worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Attention also turned to a European Central Bank conference in Sintra, Portugal, as well as key euro zone inflation reports due this week and the closely watched US non-farm payrolls report on Thursday. Asian markets closed on a mixed note with Chinese blue chips up 0.4 per cent, after surveys showed manufacturing improved slightly in June while service activity picked up. Hong Kong stocks closed down 0.9 per cent while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.8 per cent. A holiday on Friday means US jobs data will come a day early, with analysts forecasting a rise of 110,000 in June and a rising jobless rate reaching almost a year high at 4.3 per cent. The resilience of the labour market is a major reason the majority of Federal Reserve members say they can afford to wait on cutting rates until they can gauge the true impact of tariffs on inflation, so a weak report would stoke speculation of a rate cut in July rather than September. The prospect of policy easing has helped Treasuries weather worries on the ballooning US budget deficit. Ten-year Treasury yields fell three basis points to 4.25 per cent, having fallen seven bps last week. The dollar struggled in part over concern that tariffs and policy whipsaws from the White House will drag on economic growth. The euro steadied, having climbed more than one per cent last week to its highest levels since 2021 against a broadly weak dollar. Sterling tipped 0.1 per cent lower to just below a similar peak hit last week, trading near $1.37. The dollar was down 0.3 per cent to 144.19 yen and the dollar index eased 0.2 per cent to 97.237, a whisker above three-year lows. The dollar has fallen by more at this stage in the year than in any previous year since the US moved to a free-floating exchange rate in 1973. "At this point, further weakness could become self-reinforcing as underhedged European/Asian portfolios chase the move," James Reilly, a senior markets economist at Capital Economics, said. In commodity markets, the general revival in risk sentiment weighed on gold, which rose 0.4 per cent to $3,285 an ounce but held below April's record top of $3,500. Oil prices continued to struggle on concerns about plans for increased output from OPEC+, which contributed to a 12 per cent slide last week. Brent declined 17 cents to $67.60 a barrel, while US crude fell 26 cents to $65.26 per barrel. Wall Street futures have reached record highs as optimism over US trade negotiations with key partners helps boost sentiment in markets. Meanwhile, world stocks were hovering just below recent record highs and European shares had trimmed early falls. Canada said on Sunday it had rescinded its digital services tax in a bid to advance trade negotiations, bowing to pressure from US President Donald Trump. The talks are aimed at getting a deal done by July 21, extending Trump's original July 9 deadline for his "reciprocal" tariffs. Officials have suggested most deals could now be done by the September 1 Labor Day holiday. Investors were also keeping a wary eye on the progress of a huge US tax-cutting and spending bill slowly making its way through the Senate, with signs it may not make it by Trump's preferred July 4 deadline. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $3.3 trillion to the nation's debt over a decade, testing foreign appetite for US Treasuries. There was no doubting the demand for the US tech sector and megacap growth stocks including Nvidia, Alphabet and Amazon. Nasdaq futures rose another 0.5 per cent, while S&P 500 futures added 0.4 per cent, having touched record highs. "We have been surprised at just how resilient markets have been in the face of a tremendous amount of uncertainty," Kevin Gardiner, global investment strategist at Rothschild & Co, said. "Markets continue to look resilient, though we note that we haven't seen equity valuations look more expensive since 2000," he added. European stocks trimmed early falls on Monday, but were set to log gains for the quarter, while investors monitored signs of any delay on the July 9 tariff deadline, looming large. They were down just 0.1 per cent, though European defence stocks led sectoral gains with a rise of just over 1 per cent. The sector has remained buoyant since last week's NATO pledge to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on core defence and 1.5 per cent on broader defence-related measures, a jump worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Attention also turned to a European Central Bank conference in Sintra, Portugal, as well as key euro zone inflation reports due this week and the closely watched US non-farm payrolls report on Thursday. Asian markets closed on a mixed note with Chinese blue chips up 0.4 per cent, after surveys showed manufacturing improved slightly in June while service activity picked up. Hong Kong stocks closed down 0.9 per cent while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.8 per cent. A holiday on Friday means US jobs data will come a day early, with analysts forecasting a rise of 110,000 in June and a rising jobless rate reaching almost a year high at 4.3 per cent. The resilience of the labour market is a major reason the majority of Federal Reserve members say they can afford to wait on cutting rates until they can gauge the true impact of tariffs on inflation, so a weak report would stoke speculation of a rate cut in July rather than September. The prospect of policy easing has helped Treasuries weather worries on the ballooning US budget deficit. Ten-year Treasury yields fell three basis points to 4.25 per cent, having fallen seven bps last week. The dollar struggled in part over concern that tariffs and policy whipsaws from the White House will drag on economic growth. The euro steadied, having climbed more than one per cent last week to its highest levels since 2021 against a broadly weak dollar. Sterling tipped 0.1 per cent lower to just below a similar peak hit last week, trading near $1.37. The dollar was down 0.3 per cent to 144.19 yen and the dollar index eased 0.2 per cent to 97.237, a whisker above three-year lows. The dollar has fallen by more at this stage in the year than in any previous year since the US moved to a free-floating exchange rate in 1973. "At this point, further weakness could become self-reinforcing as underhedged European/Asian portfolios chase the move," James Reilly, a senior markets economist at Capital Economics, said. In commodity markets, the general revival in risk sentiment weighed on gold, which rose 0.4 per cent to $3,285 an ounce but held below April's record top of $3,500. Oil prices continued to struggle on concerns about plans for increased output from OPEC+, which contributed to a 12 per cent slide last week. Brent declined 17 cents to $67.60 a barrel, while US crude fell 26 cents to $65.26 per barrel. Wall Street futures have reached record highs as optimism over US trade negotiations with key partners helps boost sentiment in markets. Meanwhile, world stocks were hovering just below recent record highs and European shares had trimmed early falls. Canada said on Sunday it had rescinded its digital services tax in a bid to advance trade negotiations, bowing to pressure from US President Donald Trump. The talks are aimed at getting a deal done by July 21, extending Trump's original July 9 deadline for his "reciprocal" tariffs. Officials have suggested most deals could now be done by the September 1 Labor Day holiday. Investors were also keeping a wary eye on the progress of a huge US tax-cutting and spending bill slowly making its way through the Senate, with signs it may not make it by Trump's preferred July 4 deadline. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $3.3 trillion to the nation's debt over a decade, testing foreign appetite for US Treasuries. There was no doubting the demand for the US tech sector and megacap growth stocks including Nvidia, Alphabet and Amazon. Nasdaq futures rose another 0.5 per cent, while S&P 500 futures added 0.4 per cent, having touched record highs. "We have been surprised at just how resilient markets have been in the face of a tremendous amount of uncertainty," Kevin Gardiner, global investment strategist at Rothschild & Co, said. "Markets continue to look resilient, though we note that we haven't seen equity valuations look more expensive since 2000," he added. European stocks trimmed early falls on Monday, but were set to log gains for the quarter, while investors monitored signs of any delay on the July 9 tariff deadline, looming large. They were down just 0.1 per cent, though European defence stocks led sectoral gains with a rise of just over 1 per cent. The sector has remained buoyant since last week's NATO pledge to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on core defence and 1.5 per cent on broader defence-related measures, a jump worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Attention also turned to a European Central Bank conference in Sintra, Portugal, as well as key euro zone inflation reports due this week and the closely watched US non-farm payrolls report on Thursday. Asian markets closed on a mixed note with Chinese blue chips up 0.4 per cent, after surveys showed manufacturing improved slightly in June while service activity picked up. Hong Kong stocks closed down 0.9 per cent while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.8 per cent. A holiday on Friday means US jobs data will come a day early, with analysts forecasting a rise of 110,000 in June and a rising jobless rate reaching almost a year high at 4.3 per cent. The resilience of the labour market is a major reason the majority of Federal Reserve members say they can afford to wait on cutting rates until they can gauge the true impact of tariffs on inflation, so a weak report would stoke speculation of a rate cut in July rather than September. The prospect of policy easing has helped Treasuries weather worries on the ballooning US budget deficit. Ten-year Treasury yields fell three basis points to 4.25 per cent, having fallen seven bps last week. The dollar struggled in part over concern that tariffs and policy whipsaws from the White House will drag on economic growth. The euro steadied, having climbed more than one per cent last week to its highest levels since 2021 against a broadly weak dollar. Sterling tipped 0.1 per cent lower to just below a similar peak hit last week, trading near $1.37. The dollar was down 0.3 per cent to 144.19 yen and the dollar index eased 0.2 per cent to 97.237, a whisker above three-year lows. The dollar has fallen by more at this stage in the year than in any previous year since the US moved to a free-floating exchange rate in 1973. "At this point, further weakness could become self-reinforcing as underhedged European/Asian portfolios chase the move," James Reilly, a senior markets economist at Capital Economics, said. In commodity markets, the general revival in risk sentiment weighed on gold, which rose 0.4 per cent to $3,285 an ounce but held below April's record top of $3,500. Oil prices continued to struggle on concerns about plans for increased output from OPEC+, which contributed to a 12 per cent slide last week. Brent declined 17 cents to $67.60 a barrel, while US crude fell 26 cents to $65.26 per barrel.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Wall St gains as trade hopes feed quarterly momentum
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have scaled new heights as optimism over the US striking trade deals with its key partners fuelled the bullish momentum that has kept indexes on track for gains this quarter. The Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones have gained 17.5 per cent, 10.2 per cent and 4.6 per cent so far in the quarter, touching and then retreating from record levels since late last year, partly because of headlines around US President Donald Trump's rapid policy changes. The three indexes are still set for their weakest first-half performances since 2022, as the resulting uncertainty around policy has kept investors wary. The blue-chip Dow remains 2.3 per cent below its record closing high reached on December 4. On Monday, the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite extended their record run from last week, on bets of deeper US interest rate cuts and renewed optimism around AI. Investor focus is now on a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher but Trump has said he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter". Canada on Sunday scrapped its digital services tax targeting US tech firms, just hours before it was due to take effect, in a bid to advance stalled trade negotiations with the United States. "We've got this deadline coming but then Trump has said that the deadline can be moved. And then you've got markets thinking that the Fed could potentially cut interest rates sooner than later. So there are a lot of drivers here," said Dennis Dick, at trader at Triple D Trading Inc. "Investors are just confident here in this market right now because we've had some bad news come in, even some bad earnings reports, and they buy the stocks right back. So bulls remain in complete control." Investors are also looking into economic data and fiscal policy developments to see if the latest bull run in US stocks can continue. US Senate Republicans will try to pass Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, despite divisions within the party about its expected $US3.3 trillion ($A5 trillion) hit to the $36.2 trillion national debt. Trump wants the bill passed before the July 4 Independence Day holiday. Key economic data releases this week include monthly non-farm payrolls and the Institute for Supply Management's survey on manufacturing and services sectors for June. Several US central bank officials including Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell are scheduled to speak later this week. A raft of soft economic data and expectations that Trump will replace Powell with someone dovish have pushed up bets of rate cuts from the Fed this year. In early trading on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 178.68 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 43,998.06, the S&P 500 gained 14.13 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 6,187.20 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 44.64 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 20,318.10. Shares of big US banks rose after most cleared the Federal Reserve's annual "stress test," paving the way for billions in stock buybacks and dividends. Shares of Bank of America edged up 0.8 per cent while rivals JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo added 1.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent. Juniper Networks rose 8.3 per cent after the US Justice Department settled its lawsuit challenging server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise's all-cash acquisition of the networking gear maker for $US14 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares soared 9.6 per cent. Shares of Oracle rose 6.4 per cent after the company said the new cloud services agreement is expected to contribute more than $US30 billion to annual revenue starting in fiscal year 2028. The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 61 new highs and 37 new lows. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.56-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while by a 1.7-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
