Good morning traders. Thanks @ttward, @Ravgnome & the aftermarket loungers. And just like that, the week is almost done. Hope the market puts one a runner or two for you dedicated folks that trade today. The US markets were once again flat, with the Dow down a whopping 3.12 points, or 0.01%.
ASX Market Report
The Australian share market has closed lower, dragged down by the mining giants and health care stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 21 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 6,256.4 points at 1615 AEST on Wednesday, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 22 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 6,350.3.
The Aussie dollar moved higher on better-than-expected China data, breaking 72 US cents to hit as high as 72.06 cents, a level not seen since February 21. The move came after China's National Bureau of Statistics announced the country's industrial output expanded 6.5 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019, topping expectations of a 6.3 per cent rise.
Miners dipped after courts in Brazil said Vale's Bructu mine could resume operations within 72 hours. The mine's suspension after a dam disaster in January had caused shortages of iron ore and driven up the price. BHP dropped 2.72 per cent to $38.30, Rio Tinto was down 4.74 per cent to $96.40 and Fortescue Metals dropped 8.52 per cent to $7.41.
Gold miners also wilted as the precious metal sunk to its lowest price for the year so far.
Pharma giant CSL dragged the health care sector down, with shares in the company dropping 1.87 per cent to $193.03.
Tech stocks were also in the red, with Afterpay Touch down 5.89 per cent to $23.34 and Wisetech Global down 5.81 per cent to $21.90. But Megaport gained 9.96 per cent to $5.41 - an all-time high - after the Brisbane networking-as-a-service company reported new networking partnerships and several new "cloud on-ramps" including one in Toronto.
Dulux Group shares soared 27.12 per cent to $9.75 after Japanese paint giant Nippon made a $3.8 billion offer to buy the Australian paint and coating company for $9.80 per share. Dulux's board is backing the buyout, which would preserve the company's name, operations and leadership team.
The big four banks were also higher, with Westpac gaining 1.51 per cent to $26.81, Commonwealth up 0.83 per cent to $73.29, ANZ up 1.17 per cent to $26.72 and NAB up 0.92 per cent to $25.24.
The telecommunication sector did well, with Telstra gaining 2.13 per cent to $3.36, its best level in a year, and Vocus gaining 4.04 per cent to $3.86, equalling its best level in two-and-a-half years.
Nick Twidale, chief operating officer of Rakuten Securities, said he expected shares to keep operating in a range until there was more certainty regarding the US-China trade war and Brexit. "There's still this bit of caution regarding investor sentiment and risk," he said. "We're sitting in this almost dead zone, waiting for something that's going to either spur markets on or cause a correction."
The Aussie dollar is buying 71.95 US cents, from 71.50 US cents on Tuesday.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 21 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 6,256.4 points at 1630 AEST on Wednesday.
* The All Ordinaries was down 22 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 6,350.3.
* At 1630 AEST, the SPI200 futures index was flat at 6,239.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1630 AEST:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 71.50 US cents, from 71.50 US on Tuesday
* 80.57 Japanese yen, from 79.99 yen
* 63.61 euro cents, from 63.21 euro cents
* 55.10 British pence, from 54.61 pence
* 106.77 NZ cents, from 105.79 cents
Global Markets Report
World stock markets gave up early gains as a continued flight from healthcare shares dragged on Wall Street, overshadowing upbeat economic data from China.
The S&P 500 dipped as the healthcare index dived 3.4% to erase its year-to-date gains on continued fallout from concerns about potential changes to U.S. policy, including a “Medicare for All” proposal by Senator Bernie Sanders. “With a Democrat-controlled Congress, there is definitely more talk on regulating the sector and drug prices, which has negative headline risks,” said Matthew Granfki, director of strategy at Los Angeles-based Miracle Mile Advisors.
Mixed corporate results, including a revenue miss from International Business Machines Corp, also contributed to Wall Street’s stall, said Stephen Massocca, senior vice president at Wedbush Securities in San Francisco. ”Investors are nervous about the earnings season,” he said. “A lot of stocks are heavy right now, even though (the companies) haven’t reported yet.”
The decline in U.S. stocks weighed on MSCI’s 47-country world index, which was buoyed earlier by better-than-expected Chinese data showing the country’s economy grew 6.4% in the first quarter.
China’s industrial output surged 8.5% in March from a year earlier, the fastest pace since July 2014 and well above forecasts of a 5.9% increase. Retail sales also pleased, with a rise of 8.7%. Allianz Global Investors strategist and portfolio manager Neil Dwane said the data had been good enough to allay fears that China’s economy was collapsing, although the rest of the year remained in question. “Beijing will now be in a wait-and-see mode to gauge whether it has done enough,” Dwane said, referring to stimulus efforts. “To be bullish (on stocks) from here you would have to believe in a pretty strong global recovery in the second half... We are a bit more ho-hum.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 38.44 points, or 0.15%, to 26,414.22, the S&P 500 lost 11.31 points, or 0.39%, to 2,895.75 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 22.92 points, or 0.29%, to 7,977.31. The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended 0.1% higher. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.16%. Benchmark 10-year notes last rose 3/32 in price to yield 2.5849%, from 2.594% late on Tuesday.
The euro edged up 0.1% to $1.1294, recovering from losses driven by a Reuters report that several European Central Bank policymakers think the bank’s economic projections are too optimistic. Another currency on the move was the New Zealand dollar , which sank 0.7% to $0.6716 after annual consumer price inflation came in well below expectations, at just 1.5% for the first quarter. Against a basket of major currencies, the US dollar was little changed.
In commodity markets, copper touched a nine-month high on strong Chinese economic data and ended 0.9% higher at $6,556 per tonne. Spot gold, by contrast, slipped to its lowest for the year. It was last down 0.2% at $1,274.15 per ounce.
Oil prices edged lower, reversing course from earlier gains as U.S. government data showed inventories were drawn down less than an industry report had suggested on Tuesday. U.S. crude was down 8 cents, or 0.1%, at $63.97 a barrel. Global benchmark Brent crude was 2 cents off its close on Tuesday at $71.70 a barrel.
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Hope you all have a great Easter break. We have a special offering for my fellow coffee-holics, you can have your espresso put straight into your Easter egg. You’re welcome.
Oh, and don’t eat it all at once.
