Morning all
Thanks Weekend crew
SPI +18 @ 5707
Shares fall sharply on friday, pulled down by the big banks as the Trump trade of the past months shows more signs of unwinding, with the greenback extending its slide against the Australian dollar and others.
China's trade surplus narrows as exports drop, while iron ore imports surge to a record high
Nickel producers are under pressure after Indonesia eased export bans on the ore
The Aussie dollar extended its rally to hit a one-month high above US75c as the greenback retreats
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An increase in Facebook pushed the Nasdaq to a record high on Friday, and the S&P 500 also rose after major US banks kicked off the fourth-quarter earnings season with strong results.
With stocks trading at price-to-earnings valuations well above historical averages, many investors believe further gains will depend on S&P 500 companies handing in strong report cards over the next several weeks.
Major banks on Friday did not disappoint: Bank of America , JPMorgan and Wells Fargo all posted quarterly profits above analysts' expectations. They also expressed optimism about 2017 in their first public comments about earnings since Trump won the election in November.
Their shares surged over 2 per cent but later gave up most of those gains. Wells Fargo ended 1.4-per cent higher and JPMorgan added 0.5 per cent.
The S&P financial sector has jumped about 17 per cent since the election, far outpacing the S&P 500's 6-per cent rise.
The Nasdaq Composite added 0.5 per cent to a record-high close of 5574.12 points, bringing its gain so far this year to 3.6 per cent. 1
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.03 per cent to 19,885.73 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.2 per cent to 2274.64.
Copper + 1.6%
Nickel + 1.7%
Zinc + 2.5%
Aluminium + .96 %
Gold $1197
Have a good day
1 SMH
