Market Update & Important Indicators:
Financial stocks lifted the S&P 500 intraday, putting it on course for a fourth consecutive session of gains. U.S. stocks have been resilient in recent months to investors' concerns that political turmoil in Washington could push back the Trump administration's plans for policy changes like tax cuts and fiscal stimulus. A strong corporate earnings season and a largely stable economy are helping major indexes stay buoyant, investors and analysts say. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 40 points, or 0.2%, to 20934 intraday. The S&P 500 added 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite edged down less than 0.1%. Financial stocks in the S&P 500 rose with yields, ranking among the best-performing sectors in the broad index for the day. The U.S. gold price fell for the day, dropping 0.8% to 1,250.70 US$/oz.
European stocks closed in the green, with French shares among the biggest advancers as Eurozone economic activity remained at a six-year high. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2% to finish at 392.02, rebounding after Monday's 0.1% dip. But travel-related shares edged lower following a suspected terror attack by a suicide bomber in Manchester, England, which killed 22 people, including children, and injured 59 as people left an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night. Political campaigning ahead of the U.K.'s general election on June 8 was suspended. The pound was recently down slightly to $1.2982, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 finished 0.2% lower at 7,485.29.
After a broadly positive start, Asian stocks saw more red than green by the close. The Nikkei shed 0.3% but Korea's Kospi added 0.3% to notch a fresh record closing high. The largest declines came in China, where investors have been concerned about the pace of initial public offerings — about 10 a week. The Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.5%, while the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 2.1%. Indonesian shares ended lower as the JSX index dropped 0.3% at 5730.613 with 131 gainers and 201 decliners. The benchmark index, however, managed to recover from its 5692.984 intra-day low. Singapore shares were among regional outperformers as bargain buying set in after recent declines. The FTSE Straits Times Index, ended 0.3% higher at 3222.69.
Australian shares declined after major banks gave up early gains and lower iron-ore prices weighed on mining stocks. Despite rising as much as 0.4% in the opening minutes of trade, the S&P/ASX 200 spent much of the session in the red. The benchmark index ended down 11 points, or 0.2%, at 5760.20, giving up a chunk of Monday's recovery. The index has fallen in four of the past five sessions. The financial and materials subindexes each fell 0.5%, offsetting modest gains among energy stocks after oil prices rose to a fresh one-month high overnight on expectations the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will extend or even deepen output cuts at its meeting this week. After rallying about 25% following the U.S. presidential election, Australia's four biggest banks have dropped 12% on average since late April. The declines come amid concerns over stock valuation following a lacklustre earnings season and fears the federal government's plans for a tax on liabilities will further dampen sentiment and add to pressures on profitability.
The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper contract closed up 0.19% at $5,714/t. The other base metals finished mostly higher on Tuesday. Tin prices rose 0.2% at 20,678/t, zinc prices rose 1.1% at 2,648/t, aluminium prices rose 0.3% to 1,941/t whilst lead prices jumped 0.1% at 2,070/t. Bucking the trend was the price of nickel which fell 0.5% at 9,302/t.
Recent Contacts & Presentations:
Dacian Gold (DCN), Egan Street Resources Ltd (EGA), Alice Queen Ltd (AQX), Paringa Resources Ltd (PNL), AWE Limited (AWE), Saracen Mineral Holdings Ltd (SAR), Red River Resources Ltd (RVR), Vital Metals Ltd (VML), Prairie Mining Ltd (PDZ), Hotcopper Holdings Ltd (HOT), Resolute Mining Ltd (RSG), Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BOT), Pantoro Ltd (PNR), Beadell Resources Ltd (BDR), Investigator Resources Ltd (IVR), Echo Resources (EAR), Emerald Resources NL (EMR), PharmaNet Group (PNO), Strandline Resources Ltd (STA)
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