News
Fed comment sends market to new highs
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at fresh records after encouraging comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The S&P 500 managed to close in the green, adding 0.07 percent to a record high of 5,576. The Nasdaq closed 0.14 percent higher, also closing at a new record high of 18,429. Both major indexes also hit new all-time highs during the session. The Dow Jones again bucked the trend by closing in the red, ending 0.13 percent lower.
The main driver of the day was a comment from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who said, “Reducing policy restraint too late or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment.” Powell also went on to say, “More good data would strengthen our confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent.” Investors interpreted these comments as a clear signal that the Fed remains focused on delivering the long-awaited policy easing sooner rather than later. Powell will continue his testimony before Congress on Wednesday.
The Fed’s commentary highlights the importance of key inflation data due later this week, with the June consumer price index due on Thursday and the producer price index on Friday.
In company news, Nvidia shares rose 2.5 percent after brokerage KeyBanc upgraded its price target on the AI giant to $180, implying a 40 percent upside from current share price levels. Tesla continued its rally to close 3.7 percent higher on the day. Apple closed 0.4 percent higher, bringing its market value to $3.51 trillion. Microsoft bucked the tech trend to close 1.4 percent lower on the day.
Turning to US sectors, the best performer was Financials, which closed 0.65% higher. The worst performer was Materials, which closed 1.01% lower.
In local and Asian news, the RBNZ will release its policy decision today, and China is due to release its June CPI and PPI numbers later in the day.
Futures
SPI futures point to a 0.5% drop.
Coin
One Australian dollar at 7:30 am was trading at 67.41 US cents.
Commodities
Gold added 0.19 percent. Silver gained 0.46 percent. Copper fell 0.88 percent. Oil fell 1.12 percent.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed lower. London’s FTSE fell 0.66 percent, Frankfurt lost 1.28 percent and Paris closed 1.56 percent lower.
In Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 1.96%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed flat, while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 1.26% higher.
Yesterday, the Australian stock market closed 0.86% higher at 7,829.71.
Ex-dividends
CD II Equity Fund (ASX:CD2) is paying 7 cents without deductible
CD III equity fund (ASX:CD3) is paying 7 cents without deductible
Dividends payable
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX:FPH)
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Stock Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.
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