What Matters Today: Has Albemarle signalled a low is near for lithium stocks?

US equities endured a tough session on Thursday night as a new chapter was turned with rate cuts fully built into markets but fears of a recession are gaining momentum. The concept of a ‘hard landing’ has felt like a dormant beast, with bad economic news being welcomed by stocks because it stoked optimism about rate cuts; this has now changed, with traders now scarred that the Fed have been too slow cutting rates and a tougher economic reality is a real possibility. The bond market is already telling us that Jerome Powell et al. may be behind the curve. Not all stocks felt the selling, with Meta Platforms (META US) closing up +4.8% on stronger-than-expected 2nd quarter results and upbeat guidance.

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What Matters Today: Is yesterday’s jump a “Get out of Jail Free card” in lithium stocks?

The ASX200 closed up +0.4% on Monday, driven to new highs by a resources sector enjoying a new lease of life; it's already surged +6.7% so far in August. The lithium stocks led the charge following the news that CATL shut down one of the world's largest mines, but on the index level, it was BHP that added the most points, around 30% of the day's 38-point gain. Outside of the gold stocks, the Materials Sector was hot, from lithium to copper, and iron ore.