Market Update & Important Indicators:
Financial shares rose Tuesday while energy and dividend-paying shares fell, leaving the S&P 500 up slightly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped after rising within 50 points of the never-before-reached 20000 level earlier in the session. The Nasdaq Composite rose and was on course for a fresh record. The Dow industrials have risen more than 8% since Election Day, as investors betting on fiscal stimulus and tax cuts under President-elect Donald Trump scooped up shares of financial and industrial companies while largely selling government bonds. Many analysts and investors believe stocks will continue climbing throughout the year, bolstered by a strengthening economy. "Sentiment has clearly improved with the pro-growth Washington agenda," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, who expects the S&P 500 to rise to 2400 by the end of the year. The index closed at 2268.90 Monday.
European stocks closed in positive territory Tuesday, shaking off nagging anxieties over the health of Italy's banking system, which gave investors pause for much of the session. The Stoxx Europe 600 index tipped 0.1% higher to finish at 364.07, snapping two days of down days for the benchmark. A turnaround in bank shares helped to focus a mini turnaround for the European benchmark as shares in lenders cut losses or turned slightly positive late Tuesday.
Asian shares hit a bump on their 2017 dream run on Tuesday, hurt by doubts over a recent global oil curb deal, and apprehensions ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's first news conference since his election victory. The Nikkei Stock Average reversed gains in afternoon trade, and closed down 0.8%. Elsewhere, Korea's Kospi declined 0.2%. Mr. Trump plans to hold a news conference on Wednesday, but already, market participants fear a wave of comments criticizing Asian manufacturers could jeopardize prospects in the region. The political uncertainty likely pushed the safe-haven yen higher, with profit-taking pressure in the U.S. dollar weighing on the greenback, he said. The fear among investors in Japan is that Mr. Trump could turn on the country in his desire to protect American manufacturing. The dollar-yen pair was last down 0.2% at Y115.80, after earlier hitting a low of Y115.18. This followed a large amount of dollar selling seen at around the Y116 level.
Australian shares retreated for the first time this year Tuesday, as investors pulled back on the recent rally and energy stocks were hit by a drop in oil prices. Snapping a run higher over the last five sessions, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 46.7 points, or 0.8%, to 5760.7. The financial sector led broad losses, albeit with materials stocks down only modestly as iron-ore and gold miners advanced. After helping drive the market higher the day before, the four largest banks were each down on Tuesday. Banks have risen strongly alongside the wider equities market since the U.S. election in November, with the ASX 200 financials subindex hitting a 20-month high Monday.
The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper contract closed up 3% at $5,758/t. Other base metals also gained across the board. Aluminium prices rose 1.3% to $1,758/t, zinc rose 2.0% to $2,701/t, tin rose 0.1% to $21,175/t, nickel rose 2.2% to $10,562/t and lead rose 3.9% to $2,173/t.
Recent Contacts & Presentations:
Emmerson Resources Ltd (ERM), Syntonic Ltd (SYT), MZI Resources Ltd (MZI), Resolute Mining Ltd (RSG), Capricorn Metals Ltd (CMM), Eve Investments Ltd (EVE), Australian Mines Ltd (AUZ), Heron Resources Ltd (HRR), St George Mining Ltd (SGQ), Threat Protect Australia Ltd (TPS), Paringa Resources Ltd (PNL), The Gruden Group Ltd (GGL), Primary Gold Ltd (PGO), Vault Intelligence Ltd (VLT), Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BOT) Orthocell Ltd (OCC), Strandline Resources Ltd (STA) Dragontail Systems Ltd (DTS), ABM Resources Ltd (ABU), Acacia Coal Ltd (AJC), Troy Resources Ltd (TRY), Hazer Group Ltd (HZR), Berkeley Energia Ltd (BKY), Sino Gas & Energy Holdings Ltd (SEH)
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