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An afternoon recovery on Wall Street points to early relief for Australian investors following two days of losses.
ASX futures bounced 38 points or 0.51 per cent as US stocks finished with modest gains.
Oil fell for a third night. Iron ore also declined. Gold logged its highest close in a week. The dollar fell further below 75 US cents.
Wall Street
A recovery in Big Tech helped Wall Street overcome early weakness as investors continued to price in higher rates and the rapid withdrawal of Federal Reserve stimulus spending.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 87 points or 0.25 per cent ahead after being down as much as 300 points. The S&P 500 rose19 points or 0.43 per cent. The Nasdaq Composite scraped a gain of eight points or 0.06 per cent.
Defensive assets outperformed for much of the session. Walmart, Costco, Pfizer and Procter & Gamble rallied as investors continued to favour companies with a solid history of earnings and reliable dividends.
Growth stocks recovered in afternoon trade as dip-buyers stepped in after two and a half days of down-pressure. Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet and Facebook owner Meta Platforms all turned positive.
“You have a marketplace that is trying to get its head around what valuations should be in a higher interest rate environment. Every piece of economic news that comes out changes that forward expectation at the margin and the market needs to figure that out,” Timothy Lesko, senior wealth advisor at Mariner Wealth Advisors, said.
US stocks had been under pressure since the minutes from the latest Fed meeting showed the central bank preparing to move harder and faster than many market participants expected. Many committee members want to raise rates by twice the usual amount at meetings this year and reduce the bank’s balance sheet quickly.
Market pricing indicated an 88.9 per cent of a 50 basis-point hike at next month’s meeting, according to Reuters.
“The minutes from the latest FOMC meeting portray a higher level of urgency than previous communication as the Fed has circled on a commitment to run the balance sheet down faster than market participants may have expected,” Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist at Allianz Investment Management, said.
A new earnings season gets underway next week with quarterly updates from many of the major banks. Analysts expect earnings growth to slow to an average 6.4 per cent from more than 30 per cent in the previous quarter.
Australian outlook
Wall Street’s gains were not especially convincing, but futures traders see enough to anticipate a strong start. The S&P/ASX 200 needs to gain at least 51 points by tonight’s close to avoid its first weekly loss in a month. Tentative gains through Monday and Tuesday morning quickly gave way to selling after the Reserve Bank opened the door to rate rises in the next few months.
While dip-buyers lifted the US tech sector 0.23 per cent, the night’s best returns were in healthcare +1.86 per cent, energy +1.36 per cent and consumer staples +1.18 per cent.
Defensive assets generally outperformed, continuing the trend of the previous two sessions. However, declines in real estate and utilities suggested the move might be losing momentum.
The materials sector bounced 0.63 per cent. Financials eased 0.1 per cent.
Back home, the Reserve Bank releases its twice-yearly Financial Stability Review at 11.30 am AEST.
Rio Tinto and OZ Minerals hold AGMs today. GUD Holdings hosts an Investor Day.
IPOs: a strong end to the week continues with a second-straight double-header. Finder Energy at 10.30 am AEST is an oil and gas explorer with permits off the coast of WA and in the North Sea. Noble Helium at 12.30 pm explores for helium in Tanzania.
A resurgent greenback continued to pressure the Australian dollar. The Aussie retreated 0.33 per cent to 74.8 US cents.
Commodities
Brent crude briefly dipped below US$100 a barrel for the first time in three weeks as the release of strategic reserves capped prices. The International Energy Agency this week announced a coordinated release of 120 million barrels of crude.
Brent settled 49 US cents or 0.5 per cent lower at US$100.58 a barrel after trading as low as US$98.41.
Iron ore fell for a second day in China as buying remained subdued after this week’s two-day public holiday. The spot price for ore landed in China declined US$3.43 or 2.1 per cent to US$156.64 a tonne.
BHP‘s US-traded depositary receipts inched up 0.04 per cent after the miner’s UK stock dropped 0.66 per cent. Rio Tinto gained 0.35 per cent in the US and lost 0.35 per cent in the UK.
Gold climbed to its highest in a week after Russia rejected the latest Ukraine peace plan. Metal for June delivery settled US$14.70 or 0.8 per cent ahead at US$1,937.80 an ounce. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index rose 1.32 per cent.
Aluminium fell to a three-week low during a mixed session for industrial metals as Covid lockdowns capped Chinese demand. Benchmark aluminium on the London Metal Exchange declined 1.6 per cent to US$3,361.26 a tonne.
Lead dropped 1 per cent, zinc 2.1 per cent and tin 0.7 per cent. Copper rose 0.3 per cent and nickel 0.7 per cent.
