| Name | Price | Change | % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 44,922.27 | 463.66 | 1.04% |
| S&P 500 | 6,466.58 | 20.82 | 0.32% |
| Nasdaq | 21,713.14 | 31.24 | 0.14% |
| VIX | 14.49 | -0.24 | -1.63% |
| Gold | 3,411.70 | 3.4 | 0.10% |
| Oil | 62.79 | 0.14 | 0.22% |
OVERVIEW OF THE US MARKET
Wall Street traders kept piling into bets that the Federal Reserve will soon be able to cut interest rates, with stocks hitting all-time highs and Treasury yields falling alongside the dollar.
All major US equity indexes climbed more than 1%, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 hitting all-time highs. The Russell 2000 of smaller firms jumped 3%. While an initial rally in Treasuries faded, money markets priced in an about 90% chance of a Fed reduction next month. Two-year yields, more sensitive to imminent policy moves, slid four basis points to 3.73%.
Underlying US inflation accelerated to the strongest since the start of the year, but a tepid rise in goods prices tempered concerns about tariff-driven pressures.
About 420 shares in the S&P 500 rose. While the index only eked out a gain amid weakness in most megacaps, Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. rallied. The Russell 2000 of small firms jumped 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1%. In late hours, Cisco Systems Inc. gave a lukewarm outlook. Two-year yields dropped five basis points to 3.68%.
Fed policymakers last month kept their benchmark at a target range of 4.25% to 4.5%. Bessent said officials might have cut rates if they’d been aware of the revised data on the labor market that came out a couple of days after the latest meeting.
The S&P 500 closed at a record high Wednesday, and companies that went public in the U.S. this year are up 25% on average from their IPO prices as of Aug. 12, according to Dealogic. The IPO classes of each of the last five years all trade more than 20% below their IPO prices on average, Dealogic data show.
The strong IPO market has other companies that had delayed their offerings dusting them off again. Ticketing marketplace StubHub and buy-now-pay-later company Klarna are both preparing for Fall debuts, according to people familiar with the matter.
OVERVIEW OF THE AUSTRALIAN MARKET
Australia’s share market retreated on August 13, 2025, as a sharp post-earnings drop in Commonwealth Bank overshadowed gains in resources and broader market breadth, highlighting an ongoing sector rotation. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.61%, or 53.7 points, to 8,827.1, while the broader All Ordinaries declined 0.52% to 9,103.1. Despite the benchmark’s slide, advancers outnumbered decliners 150 to 114 on the S&P/ASX 300, signaling underlying resilience amid selective selling.
8 of 11 sectors rose, led by materials (+0.97%) on iron ore strength and gold miner rallies, health care (+0.95%), and consumer staples (+0.89%). Financials plunged 2.60%, dragging the index, with utilities down 2.77% on AGL’s slump. In financials, CBA tumbled 5.4% to $169.12 after its $10 billion full-year cash profit missed lofty expectations, pulling NAB (-2.6% to $38.16) and Westpac (-2.1% to $33.90) lower, though ANZ dipped just 0.2% to $31.87. Materials countered with BHP (+1.1% to $41.73), Rio Tinto (+1.0% to $117.84), and Fortescue (+1.4% to $19.93), while gold stocks shone—Evolution Mining surged 3.9% on doubled profits amid high metal prices.
Top performers included Orbital Corporation (+22.2%) responding to a price query, Benz Mining (+19.8%) on drilling acceleration, and Lindian Resources (+16.2%) extending gains from a mining license expansion. Rebounds featured Avita Medical (+13.8%) after an equity raise and Chrysos Corporation (+13.3%) on trading updates. Decliners were led by Bravura Solutions (-16.5%) on FY25 results and board changes, AGL (-13.1%) after a 21% profit drop to $640 million, and Beach Energy (-7.5%) amid energy sector weakness. Lithium stocks cooled post-rally, with Pilbara Minerals (-6.6%) and Sayona Mining (-6.9%) pulling back, though many retained strong multi-day gains.
Wage data released on August 13 showed quarterly growth at 0.8% (in line with polls) and yearly at 3.4% (slightly above the 3.3% expected), aligning with RBA forecasts and posing “no risk” to medium-term inflation per Westpac senior economist Justin Smirk, following yesterday’s 25 basis-point cut to 3.60%. The Aussie dollar rose 0.19% to 65.42 US cents. Overnight US CPI met expectations (core monthly at 0.3%), easing tariff pass-through fears, while a 90-day US-China truce extension supported sentiment.
AMP’s Shane Oliver sees RBA easing as equity-positive if recession-free, enhancing profits and attractiveness over cash, but cautions volatility from valuations and Trump’s trade wars. Investors await Westpac’s update on August 14 and NAB’s on August 18 for banking cues, plus tomorrow’s July employment data (poll +25k jobs, 4.2% unemployment), which could shape further rate expectations.