Market Update & Important Indicators:
U.S. stocks turned lower Wednesday as highflying technology shares slumped. The Dow Jones dropped 0.7%, in the last half hour of trading. The S&P 500 edged down 0.9%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1%. Technology shares, which have helped keep major indexes afloat this year, dropped 0.9% in the S&P 500. That continues a slump from earlier this week when the sector tumbled on fears the White House could move to curb foreign investment in technology firms. Investors have been weighing mixed signals this week from the U.S. and China about the future of their trading relationship, which some worry could hurt the outlook for growth. President Donald Trump suggested he would scrap plans for new restrictions on Chinese investment in U.S. technology and rely mainly on existing tools to guard against the purchase — and theft — of innovations vital to the U.S. economy. China's Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday said it is closely watching potential U.S. moves to restrict Chinese investment amid signs of intensifying trade tensions between the two countries. China's central bank separately guided the yuan to a six-month low against the U.S. dollar, sending the Chinese currency tumbling. The yuan's drop has accelerated since trade threats between China and the U.S. escalated in the middle of June. Energy stocks, meanwhile, were the best performers in the broad S&P 500, rising 1.4%. The US gold price fell 0.6% to 1251.60 US$/oz.
European stocks rallied on Wednesday, reversing an earlier loss as fears of a full-blown global trade war eased after U.S. President Donald Trump softened his harsh tone on Chinese investments in the U.S. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.7% to close at 379.97, after being down as much as 0.8% earlier in the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index gained 1.1% to 7,621.69, while Germany's DAX 30 index climbed 0.9% to 12,348.61. France's CAC 40 index advanced 0.9% to 5,327.20.
Asian equities trended higher as the day progressed yesterday. The opposite occurred today with markets ending at or near session lows amid post-lunch selling. Indexes in New Zealand, Taiwan and South Korea all saw sharp downward adjustments after those markets' respective closes while selling deepened in China and Hong Kong to leave indexes there down as much as 2%. Broad morning gains in Southeast Asia turned decidedly mixed with Singapore's benchmark down 0.6% even as the beaten-down Philippines' PSEi just closed with a 2.4% gain and finished at the day's best level. S&P 500 futures have also taken a turn for the worst; they're at session lows in dropping 0.45%.
Though up for a majority of the day, Australian stocks faded late and left the S&P/ASX 200 with a 4th-straight slight decline. It fell 1.7 points to 6195.9, dropping a cumulative 0.6% during this streak. Weighing today were the financial, industrial and telecom sectors. They were largely offset by rebounds in commodities stocks, led by oil's overnight pop. Gains of some 2% were seen in the likes of BHP Billiton, Oil Search and Santos.
The London Metals Exchange is currently experiencing technical difficulties preventing the release of updated quotes to the market.
Recent Contacts & Presentations:
Marindi Metals (MZN), MOD Resources (MOD), Santos (STO), Adriatic Metals (ADT) Bio–Gene Technology (BGT), Walkabout Resources (WKT), Triton Minerals (TON), Calima Energy (CE1), Peel Mining (PEX), Catalyst Metals (CYL), Vault Intelligence (VLT), Doray Minerals (DRM), Nzuri Coppoer (NZC), Bowen Coking Coal (BCB), Phosphagenics Limited (POH) Great Boulder Resources (GBR), Orthocell (OCC), Northern Minerals (NTU), ABM Resources Ltd (ABU), Vital Metals Ltd (VML), Todd River Resources Ltd (TRT), Pacific Energy Ltd (PEA), Carnarvon Petroleum Ltd (CVN), Australian Mines Ltd (AUZ), Australian Finance Group (AFG), Paladin Energy Ltd (PDN), Cooper Energy Ltd (COE), Medibio Ltd (MEB), Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BOT), Salt Lake Potash Ltd (SO4), Golden Mile Resources Ltd (G88), NTM Gold Ltd (NTM), Ausmex Mining Group Ltd (AMG), Matrix C&E Ltd (MCE), Austal Ltd (ASB), Decmil Group Ltd (DCG), Ventnor Resources Ltd, Ausdrill Ltd (ASL), Alice Queen Ltd (AQX), PNX Metals Ltd (PNX), Alliance Resources Ltd (AGS), Myanmar Metals Ltd (MYL), Primary Gold Ltd (PGO), Sino Gas & Energy Holdings Ltd (SEH)
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