STO Well positioned, page-568

Expectations (for now!) for falling interest rates ( & therefore a "Soft Landing" for the economy) in the USA- lifted the Dow Jones to a record 40000+. This has resulted in a belief, by many experts, that the ASX All Ords will also hit a record this week. Hopefully, a rising ASX will lift all boats- including STO.

At c. 3.10 pm 20.5.24, the ASX All Ordinaries was up c.0.6%, & Materials up c.2%.

Aust. Fin Review C. Lefort 19.5.24, echoing some other experts, said

"The Australian sharemarket will test its record high (my emphases) this week, following in the footsteps of the Dow Jones Industrial Average making Wall Street history by crossing 40,000 points.

Renewed optimism that interest rate cuts are on the way and the global economy has nailed a soft landing thanks to robust corporate earnings has offset the toll of higher borrowing costs and sticky inflation.

Futures indicate the S&P/ASX 200 will gain 0.5 per cent, or 35 points on Monday after the index advanced 0.8 per cent last week. On Thursday, it reset an intraday record of 7910.5 points after the jobless rate rose more than expectedto 4.1 per cent, fuelling bets the Reserve Bank will turn to easing to support a slowing economy.

The benchmark sits just 82 points or 1 per cent away from a record closing level of 7896.4 points set on March 28.

All three major US indices reset records last week while benchmarks in Japan, Europe, and Canada climbed near their historical peaks. The S&P 500 was up 0.1 per cent and the Nasdaq slipped 0.1 per cent in the closing session".

Australian shares: ASX eyes record high on global stock euphoria and Dow at 40,000 (copyright link)

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