And we are back.
The ASX has rung in the first trading day of the new year with a 1% gain.
The S&P/ASX200 has so far gained 74.00 points or 0.99% to 7,518.60.
Over the last five days, the index has gained 1.32% and is currently 1.50% off its 52-week high.
The top-performing stocks in this index are Lynas Rare Earths Ltd up 9.10% and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) up 8.75%.
This trend in Australia follows the US where the Dow and S&P 500 kicked off 2022 with record closes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced approximately 246 points, or 0.7%, sweeping to a record finish near 36,585 while the S&P 500 index added about 0.6%, to close at a record near 4,796.
Also in the US, the Nasdaq Composite Index closed 1.2% higher and while not a record, certainly edged closer to record territory.
And the Wall St winner for 2021? The S&P 500 soared 26.9%, beating both the Nasdaq's 21.4% rise and the Dow's 18.7% climb.
The tone seems optimistic this early in the year, however, analysts believe it will soften.
“While the Fed has promised patience and a slow pace, it is now rather clear that they will be making a concerted effort to remove quantitative easing by mid-year and begin slowly raising rates,” Jeffrey Hirsch, editor of the Stock Trader’s Almanac, said in a note.
“Plus, it promises to be a contentious midterm election year and the battle against COVID-19 may linger.”
Tesla kicks off the year with a bang
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) added $140 billion to its coffers yesterday, gaining 13.53% to trade at 1,199.78 – its highest close since November 5, 2021.
The company’s market capitalisation is currently $1.205 trillion, sitting just below the record of $1.235 trillion on November 4 last year.
The catalyst: good news about deliveries.
Tesla announced record fourth-quarter deliveries over the weekend that well surpassed Wall Street expectations.
All losses incurred by founder and CEO Elon Musk’s sell-off of $16 billion worth of shares to pay his tax bill are now almost erased.
The company is 68.8% higher over the past 12 months, with its overall performance leading Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner to reiterate his buy rating, raising his price target on Tesla shares to $1,200 from $1,000, saying “impressive” deliveries data suggest “large upside to 2022”.
Even bearish analyst JP Morgan’s Ryan Brinkman raised his target by 18% to $295 from $250, as the deliveries data “easily” exceeded his forecast.
“While our higher price target continues to imply large downside, we continue to believe it is not ungenerous, including that it values Tesla as the world’s most valuable automaker.”
This edges out the world’s largest automaker by volume Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) Corp.
Tesla ranks 20th by volume.
On the small cap front
Imugene Ltd (ASX:IMU, OTC:IUGNF) is 7.50% higher at the time of writing. IMU has successfully completed Phase 1a monotherapy dose escalation of PD1-Vaxx and will now proceed to combination dose escalation.
Euro Manganese Inc (ASX:EMN, TSX-V:EMN, OTCQX:EUMNF) CDI (NYSE:CDI) is up 7.07% in morning trading. EMN has had its key role in the European Union’s strategy of securing resource supply security and sustainability recognised and validated through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) agreeing to invest C$8.5 million in the company.
Firefinch Ltd (ASX:FFX) is up 3.47%. FFX has followed up a robust update to the definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Goulamina Lithium Project in Mali with the boards of Firefinch and partner Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co Ltd approving a Final Investment Decision (FID).
Predictive Discovery Ltd (ASX:PDI) is 1.95% higher. PDI management changes have come into effect, with new managing director Andrew Pardey taking the reins on January 1, 2022.