| Name | Daily Close | Daily Change | Daily Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 44,627.59 | 71.25 | 0.16% |
| S&P 500 | 6,144.15 | 14.57 | 0.24% |
| Nasdaq | 20,056.25 | 14.99 | 0.07% |
| VIX | 15.27 | -0.08 | -0.52% |
| Gold | 2,949.60 | 0.6 | 0.02% |
| Oil | 72.18 | 0.33 | 0.46% |
US MARKET
The US equities and bond markets were closed on Monday due to the Presidents’ Day holiday. S&P 500 futures are indicating a +0.23% gain on the Tuesday open.
Given the holiday, it may be worth casting our focus to European and UK equities markets. Both have materially outperformed US equities year to date (finally!). The FTSE 100 is up 7.8% year to date. Overnight, Germany’s benchmark DAX extended early gains and closed 1.3% higher at 22,797, the highest on record, and has gained a mere 14.3% year to date.
Of course, this relative outperformance comes after a sustained period of underperformance given a relatively moribund European and UK economy and the ongoing surge in Mag 7 stocks in the US. It was around Thanksgiving last year when the valuation disparity between the US and European market hit a historic high and many strategists began changing their calls on the appeal of European and UK equities.
Diversification back into Europe combined with renewed US investor demand could be a big swing factor, but seeing is very much believing as the euro economy is on its knees. There’s been $145 billion equivalent of net outflows from the European equity markets in the past three years. That contrasts markedly with the $1.3 trillion of net inflows into US-listed stocks.
Australian Market Wrap
Australian shares are expected to begin the week on a negative note following a surprising surge in US job creation, which has dampened hopes for an imminent interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. S&P/ASX 200 futures dropped 71 points, or 0.9 per cent, during US trading. Meanwhile, the Australian dollar declined by 0.8 per cent to US61.44¢ – its lowest point since the pandemic in 2020 – as the US dollar strengthened.