Markets flat ahead of CPI inflation data: Iron ore price impacted by China’s property woes
US equities ended mostly lower in somewhat directionless Wednesday trading.
The S&P 500 fell Wednesday, notching a sixth consecutive daily loss and hitting the lowest close since November 2020 as investors looked ahead to a key consumer report that will inform the pace of the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes going forward.
Tonight we will get more important inflation data with the release of the consumer price index data
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 28.34 points, or 0.10 per cent, to close at 29,210.85. The S&P 500 lost 0.33 per cent, falling to 3,577.03. The Nasdaq Composite inched down by 0.09 per cent to end at 10,417.10.
UK developments continue to dominate the headlines as the Bank of England battled a renewed sell-off in UK government bonds on Wednesday after its vow to end its emergency gilt-buying programme unsettled markets already unnerved by the fiscal plans of prime minister Liz Truss.
Investors have signalled underlying concerns about the health of UK public finances, with the government under increasing pressure to show how it will get back to a sustainable fiscal trajectory.
Across the sectors, utilities have seen profit taking as investors look to switch out of defensive industries which have outperformed, to higher alpha sectors as investors looking to take a more aggressive stance.
In the tech sector, Bloomberg has reported Intel is planning thousands of job cuts to reduce costs amid slowdown in PC market – looking towards the reporting season it will be interesting to see whether cost cutting becomes a consistent theme for tech stocks
In company news, shares of Moderna surged 8.28 per cent after the drug maker announced it will partner with Merck to jointly develop and sell a cancer vaccine.
China based BeiGene stock catapulted 23 per cent higher Wednesday after the company's leukaemia treatment beat out a blockbuster drug from Johnson & Johnson in tests.
A slowdown in China's construction sector is having a direct correlation with the iron ore price. China's usual boom period for infrastructure construction and steel-related demand during the months of September and October has so far offered no reprieve for investors in the iron ore market, as the Chinese economy continues to contend with a severe housing slump and COVID-related lockdowns.
Currencies
One Australian dollar is flat compared to the US dollar yesterday, buying 62.75 US cents
Commodities
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.4 per cent gain.
Gold shed $5.00 or 0.3 per cent to US$1681 an ounce.
Silver fell $0.46 or 2.4 per cent to US$19.03 an ounce.
Copper lost $3.40 or 1 per cent to US$342.80 a pound.
Oil dropped $2.32 or 2.6 per cent to US$87.03 a barrel.
Futures
The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.3 per cent fall.
Figures around the globe
Across the Atlantic, European markets closed lower. Paris fell 0.3 per cent, Frankfurt lost 0.4 per cent while London’s FTSE closed 0.9 per cent lower.
In Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei closed flatt, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite added 1.5 per cent.
Yesterday, the Australian sharemarket closed flat at 6648.
Ex-dividends
CPT Global (ASX:CGO) is paying 1 cent fully franked
Duxton Water (ASX:D2O) is paying 3.3 cents fully franked
Katana Capital (ASX:KAT) is paying 0.5 cents fully franked
Tombador Iron (ASX:TI1) is paying 0.28 cents unfranked
Dividends payable
Austal Ltd (ASX:ASB)
Brambles Ltd (ASX:BXB)
Calima Energy Ltd (ASX:CE1)
IVE Group Ltd (ASX:IGL)
South32 Ltd (ASX:S32)
IPO
There is one company set to make its debut on the ASX today. Keep an eye out for Bubalus Resources (ASX:BUS) after raising $5 milion at 20 cents per share.
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.
Copyright 2022 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
