The end of last week saw a significant change in the market’s perception of “bad economic news”. Instead of being embraced by equities in anticipation of future interest rate cuts, it led to aggressive selling as fears of a recession escalated exponentially.
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What Matters Today: Does Gold still stack up as it tests $US2,600?
Many subscribers may be surprised to learn that gold outperformed US stocks in 2024. In US dollars, year-to-date, gold has surged +25% while the S&P500 is up +18%—not too shabby by either! The prospect of declining interest rates has been a major driving force for both markets, with gold also enjoying strong buying out of China as the Yuan and property prices fell. However, markets never go up in straight lines forever, and we are conscious that “a rest” could be constructive for gold moving into 2025, i.e. similar to the pullback in mid-2023.The Match Out: Stocks drift after re-testing all-time highs
A lacklustre start to a week dominated by central bank calls on interest rates, headlined by the US Fed on Thursday night as weakness in China continues; data over the weekend showing China’s new home prices fell at their fastest pace in more than nine years in August, putting pressure back on the mining stocks today.Macro Monday: China struggles as global equities push to new highs
Official data released on Saturday showed that China's new home prices fell at their fastest pace in more than nine years in August, with economic stimulus failing to deliver a meaningful recovery in the country's property sector. New home prices fell 5.3% YoY, the fastest pace since May 2015, compared with a 4.9% slide in July. In monthly terms, new home prices fell for the 14th straight month, down 0.7%, matching a dip in July. Much to Beijing’s chagrin, China's property market continues to struggle with heavily indebted developers, unfinished apartments, and declining buyer confidence, weighing on the overall financial system and endangering the year's 5% economic growth target.Weekend Q&A: New all-time highs are about to be tested!
The ASX200 advanced +1.5% last week (inclusive of dividends) as the Materials Sector bounced back with a bang, while the high-flying financials were the only meaningful drag on the index. The out-of-favour commodities took it in turns to squeeze the shorts last week, with the lithium stocks soaring on Wednesday, passing the baton to uranium on Thursday, followed by coal and gold on Friday, ultimately delivering an impressive +6.2% gain for the Materials Sector over the weekThe Match Out: ASX tests all-time highs, Resources back in favour
A solid end to a good week for Australian shares, the ASX200 up 1.5% inclusive of dividends, with the Material sector driving the gains – the first time for a while – with the financials the only sector to lose ground.What Matters Today: Putin, not Trump, ignites the ASX
Many investors expected the US Presidential debate to be the focus this week, but Vladamir Putin stole the thunder from Harris and Trump. The Russian President is considering restrictions on uranium, titanium, and nickel exports - he is playing a tough “game of chicken” because Russia needs the money but is keen to limit sanctions by the West due to the war with Ukraine.The Match Out: Uranium stocks top Lithium’s move
A solid session today with broad-based buying and importantly, both index heavyweights (Banks & Miners) made strong headway. The bid is coming back into the resources and if banks can just hold it together, the index should finally breakout to be highs, now less than 100pts away.Trade Alerts – International Equities Portfolio
We are making several changes to this International Equities Portfolio.What Matters Today: MM’s top pick from each of our four portfolios!
Overseas stocks experienced a mixed night, and European indices delivered varied performances. The EURO STOXX 50 advanced 0.3%, while the FTSE fell -0.15%. The US market delivered an impressive turnaround after initially plunging on a higher-than-expected inflation print - US August CPI +0.3% MoM versus 0.2% expected. Stocks initially tumbled after the CPI but investors chased shares of mega-cap tech and semiconductor names in afternoon trading with heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA US) closing up +8.2%.Relevant suggested news and content from the site
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