The ASX has declined on open, mirroring the performance of Wall St, however banks are having a good run.
The financials sector was up 1.1% at 10.15am AEDT – significantly offsetting heavy falls among energy and materials stocks. Commonwealth Bank gained 1.1, Westpac rose by 1.3%, NAB was 1.4% higher and ANZ was 1.7% higher.
US stocks finished mostly lower yesterday, with the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 index suffering the most, as investors continue to weigh the impact of hostilities in Ukraine and wait for tomorrow’s rate hike announcement.
The Fed is expected to raise its benchmark rate by 25 basis points for the first time since 2018 as it battles inflation.
Dow Jones Industrial Average was close to bang-on flat at around 32,945, aided by a rally in American Express Corp. up 2.91% while the S&P 500 index closed down 0.7% at 4,173, weighed by declines in energy down 2.9% and information technology down 1.9%, and the NASDAQ saw a 2% decline to end around 12,581.
Here’s what we saw: source Commsec
- The Euro rose from lows near US$1.0908 to highs near US$1.0991 and was near US$1.0945 at the US close.
- The Aussie dollar fell from highs near US72.59 cents to lows of US71.90 cents and was near US71.95 cents at the US close.
- Global oil prices fell as much as 9% on Monday as negotiations between Ukraine and Russia appeared to grow more substantive, which could boost global supplies.
- The Brent crude price fell by US$5.77 a barrel or 5.1% to US$106.90 a barrel.
- The US Nymex crude price lost US$6.32 or 5.8% to US$103.01 a barrel.
- Base metal prices were mostly lower on Monday. Aluminium fell by 5.1% with tin 3.6% lower. Nickel dipped just 0.1%.
- The gold futures price fell by US$24.20 or 1.2% to US$1,960.80 an ounce.
- Spot gold was trading near US$1,951 an ounce at the US close.
- Iron ore shed US$9.60 or 6.2% to US$144.90 a tonne on fears that China's efforts to tackle coronavirus flare-ups will hinder the country's fragile economic recovery.
Some of the more interesting headlines for the day….
COVID keeps giving
If we thought we were out of the woods with the pandemic, a rethink could be on the cards.
China has locked down Shenzhen as it attempts to control another spread of COVID-19.
The country has reported more local symptomatic COVID-19 cases so far in 2022 than in all of 2021.
This news sent the CSI Tourism index plunging 6.3%, as investors fretted over the impact of strict control measures.
The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 3.1%, and the Shanghai Composite dropped 2.6% - the index’s biggest daily drop since July 24, 2020.
Fresh sanctions approved by Europe
The European Union continues to tighten the screws on Russia, with a fresh round of sanctions.
France (which currently holds EU presidency) says the EU "in consultation with our international partners, has approved a fourth package of sanctions targeting individuals and entities involved in the aggression against Ukraine, as well as several sectors of the Russian economy."
Trade sanctions include "suspending the application of the most-favoured-nation clause for Russia and suspending the examination of Belarus' application for accession to the World Trade Organisation".
Ford accelerates EV roll out in Europe
US car giant Ford is launching seven new electric vehicle models in Europe by 2024. It will also expand operations in Germany, Romania and Turkey.
Ford is aiming to sell more than 600,000 EVs annually in Europe alone by 2026 and two million electric cars worldwide by that year.
"Ford is all-in and moving fast to meet the demand in Europe and around the globe," the automaker's chief executive Jim Farley says.
It aims to sell only electric passenger and commercial vehicles by 2035 in Europe, and make its entire supply chains carbon neutral, from factories to suppliers.
US markets
Investors continue to assess the latest geopolitical developments ahead of this week's US Federal Reserve meeting.
Shares of Chevron fell 2.5% and Devon Energy lost 10.2% as oil prices plunged.
Tesla fell 3.6% and Alphabet lost 3.0% as US treasury yields jumped.
Apple shares slid 2.7% as its supplier Foxconn halted operations due to a lockdown in Shenzhen, China.
Shares of American Express gained 2.9% and Visa rose 1.8%.
European markets
Were higher.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index lifted by 1.2% with Volkswagen shares up 4.4% after the carmaker doubled its operating profit.
The German Dax index rose by 2.2% and the UK FTSE index was 0.5% higher.
In London trade, shares in Rio Tinto and BHP both fell by 4.8%.