Wall St extended its gains into the closing bell, which bodes well for the ASX today.
The S&P/ASX200 has already gained 22.70 points or 0.31% to 7,409.80, setting a new 20-day high.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite more than reclaimed its previous day's losses. Equities bounced as oil futures pulled back after ending around two-week highs. The S&P 500 jumped around 64 points, or 1.4%, to finish near 4,520. The Nasdaq Composite advanced around 269 points, or 1.9%, ending near 14,192. The Dow closed with a gain of around 349 points, or 1%, near 34,708.
Meanwhile, equities bounced but oil futures pulled back after ending around two-week highs.
Just on oil, Canada will boost oil exports by about 5% to combat supply shortage issues faced by allies shunning Russian energy after its invasion of Ukraine.
"Our European friends and allies need Canada and others to step up. They’re telling us they need our help in getting off Russian oil and gas in the short term,” Canada's resources minister Jonathan Wilkinson says.
Ottawa "will continue working with our international partners to support international energy markets".
And as for Bitcoin, it is up nearly 4% at $US43,969.8, with ethereum up 4.8% to $US3112.43.
The Bank of England (BoE) has urged global authorities to increase oversight of the cryptocurrency sector to prevent it becoming a risk to financial stability.
The BoE is looking for better coordination between domestic and international regulatory bodies.
Here’s what we saw (source Commsec):
- The Euro rose from lows near US$1.0970 to highs near US$1.1009 and was near US$1.0995 at the US close.
- The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US74.65 cents to highs near US75.25 cents and was near US75.15 cents at the US close.
- Global oil prices fell by around 2% on Thursday after the European Union didn't agree on a plan to boycott Russian oil.
- The Brent crude price fell by US$2.57 a barrel or 2.1% to US$119.03 a barrel.
- The US Nymex crude price fell by US$2.59 or 2.3% to US$112.34 a barrel.
- Base metal prices fell by between 1.0-2.8% on Thursday.
- Nickel bucked the trend, up 15% - its daily price limit - while tin rose 1.7%.
- The gold futures price rose by US$24.90 or 1.3% to US$1,962.20 an ounce.
- Spot gold was trading near US$1,962 an ounce at the US close.
- The iron ore futures price rose by US9 cents or 0.1% to US$149.01 a tonne.
Australian market
Some of Australia’s biggest business names, including those in investment, have dominated this year’s ‘The List: Australia’s Richest 250’, published by The Australian.
The total wealth on the 2022 list is a combined $520.20 billion, compared with 2021’s $470.07 billion. The average wealth on The List is $2.08 billion, last year it was $1.88 billion, and there are 131 billionaires. The number of women on The List is 30 – last year there were 27.
Here are the top earners:
Mining magnate Gina Rinehart tops the 2022 The List: Australia’s Richest 250 with $32.64 billion wealth.
Fellow mining magnate and Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) Ltd founder Andrew Forrest comes in a close second with wealth of $31.77 billion.
Anthony Pratt is #3 with $27.77 billion wealth.
Atlassian (NASDAQ:TEAM) co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are 4th and 5th with wealth of $26.20 and 25.99 billion.
Property billionaire Harry Triguboff is #6 on The List with wealth of $20.81 billion.
Clive Palmer is #7 nearly doubling his wealth for a second year in a row valued at $18.35 billion as he takes another crack at government.
The highest money-making sectors from the list are property (59), technology (29), investment (28), retail (27), mining (22), manufacturing (14), healthcare (13), financial services (12), agriculture (10), and construction (10).
The 2022 List also reveals the top 25 donors. Andrew Forest has donated more than anyone else on The List, giving more than $109.6 million, with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield CDI (NYSE:CDI)’s Frank Lowy at #2 making $51.1 million in donations.
There are more members from the technology sector than ever before – 29 – some of the so-called older industries, such as manufacturing, are showing resilience.
“The technology revolution is heralding a shift from “old” industries such as mining and manufacturing to newer online sectors, bringing significant change to the ranks of the country’s wealthiest individuals. It has also helped create a record number of new names on The List, with 29 debutants. Despite the pandemic, some sectors – retail in particular – have done incredibly well and created a surge in new wealth on The List. It’s been a fun uncovering the new names coming up amongst the old guard of The List and sharing their stories,” said John Stensholt, Editor – The List.
Canva is a company of note and is being hailed as the new Google. Co-founders and husband and wife team Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, 34 and 36 have reached the Top 10 for the first time. They are ranked 8 and 9 respectively on The List with a combined value of $15.89 billion. The Canva business is valued at more than $55 billion.
THE TOP 10 OF 2022 THE LIST: AUSTRALIA’S RICHEST 250
US markets
Technology led sector gains, up 2.7% with communication services up 1.7%. Shares in chipmakers Nvidia were up 9.8% and Intel was up 6.9%. Shares in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL). gained 2.3%, while Microsoft lifted 1.5%.
A lift in the S&P Global purchasing manager surveys buoyed investor sentiment.
Jobless claims at 50-year low
Unemployment benefit filings dropped to levels not seen in more than 50 years, with US President Joe Biden saying this was evidence his economic policies were working.
The Labor Department reported 187,000 new claims for jobless aid were made last week, seasonally adjusted, the lowest level since the week of September 6, 1969.
People receiving regular state unemployment benefits in the week ending March 12 was 1.35 million, the lowest it had been since January 3, 1970.
“This historic progress is no accident: it’s the result of an economic strategy to grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out,” Biden said in a statement.
European markets
Were mixed yesterday. Banks fell 0.7% while retail stocks were led lower by a 3.3% drop in British clothing retailer, Next, after it trimmed its sales and profit forecast for 2022-23.
Telecom Italia gained 8.4% after Reuters reported that KKR remains interested in taking over the Italian telecoms group.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell by 0.2%. The German Dax index fell by 0.1% but the UK FTSE index rose by 0.1%.
In London trade, shares in Rio Tinto rose by 1.0% and BHP shares lifted by 2.2%.
$8.2BN in Russian assets frozen by Swizerland
Switzerland has frozen $8.2 billion in Russian assets, due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The country has aligned with the European Union’s sanctions despite its traditional neutrality. Banks have since been required to report persons, companies or entities targeted by sanctions to the Economy Ministry.
Those affected most could be wealthy Russians, with a penchant for the Saint Moritz resort and its luxurious chalets.