| Name | Daily Close | Daily Change | Daily Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 38225.66 | 322.37 | 0.85% |
| S&P 500 | 5064.20 | 45.81 | 0.91% |
| Nasdaq | 15840.96 | 235.48 | 1.51% |
| VIX | 14.68 | -0.71 | -4.61% |
| Gold | 2314.10 | 4.50 | 0.19% |
| Oil | 79.16 | 0.21 | 0.27% |
US MARKET
Tech stocks drove market gains Thursday ahead of a crucial jobs report, offering insights into the U.S. economic health. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.5%, and the S&P 500 increased 0.9%, both reversing recent losses. The Dow also rose by 0.9%, or 322 points.
Despite challenges in its inflation efforts, the Federal Reserve hinted at a potential for lowering rather than raising interest rates, boosting riskier investments like stocks over safer government bonds.
Comments from Charlie Ripley, senior strategist at Allianz Investment Management, highlighted relief that the Fed might not resume rate hikes, noting a stable macroeconomic outlook.
Amazon’s record sales and Apple’s better-than-expected results further lifted tech sector confidence. Apple also announced a $110 billion stock buyback, positively impacting its after-hours stock price.
Recent strong inflation data had dampened rate cut hopes, but investors now anticipate one or two rate cuts this year. The S&P 500 has gained 6.2% this year.
Attention is now on Friday’s jobs report, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell pointing to a hiring slowdown as evidence of cooling demand due to high rates.
Leah Traub, a portfolio manager at Lord Abbett, remarked on the Fed’s focus shift towards the labor market to justify potential rate cuts.
Notable stock movements included Qualcomm’s 9.7% rise after surpassing earnings expectations, and Moderna’s 12.7% increase following robust sales forecasts. Conversely, Etsy shares plummeted 15.1% to a four-year low after disappointing sales figures, and Paramount surged 13% amid a $26 billion acquisition offer from Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management.
LOCAL MARKET
The Australian share market closed slightly higher after dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, though gains from the morning reduced by the afternoon. The S&P/ASX200 ended up 17.1 points, or 0.23%, at 7,587, and the All Ordinaries increased by 17.5 points to 7,849.4.
The Fed kept U.S. interest rates steady at 5.3%, with Powell indicating further rate hikes were “unlikely” and suggesting that rate cuts might be delayed longer than previously thought due to higher-than-expected inflation readings.
In market movements, six out of eleven sectors finished positive. Notably, Woolworths dropped 4.2% after reporting a disappointing quarter, in contrast to Coles, which benefited from a successful promotional campaign. Meanwhile, NAB announced a $1.5 billion increase in its share buyback program, despite a drop in first-half cash earnings.
Gold miners generally saw gains with rising gold prices, while Bapcor faced a sharp decline after adjusting its profit outlook downward and a leadership shake-up. The Australian dollar strengthened to 65.42 US cents from 64.80 at the previous close.
In other markets, the NZX 50 slightly increased by 6.46 points to 11,874.04, while the Nikkei 225 slightly declined by 37.98 points to 38,236.07.