ASX 200

Highlights Australian share market is likely to start the week on a muted note. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 94 ...

US equities were under pressure after data showed that monthly inflation surged by the most since 2005 while US consumer spending increased more than expected in March amid strong demand for services. Emerging market stocks rose 2.08%. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones fell 2.8%, the S&P 500 dipped 3.6%, and the NASDAQ ended 4.2% lower. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones fell 2.8%, the S&P 500 dipped 3.6%, and the NASDAQ ended 4.2% lower. Gold prices gave up some gains after earlier rallying as much as 1.3% when the dollar retreated, and the precious metal was set to end the month lower on bets of aggressive Fed policy tightening. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 94 points or 1.25% lower on Monday. On Friday, the ASX 200 charged 1.05% higher to 7,435 points. Oil prices fell on Friday, reversing late in the volatile session, pulled downward by the US heating oil contract that plummeted by more than 20% at one point on the day of its expiration. The dollar index fell 0.415%, with the euro up 0.47% to US$1.0543. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 94 points or 1.25% lower. As per a Reuters poll, the RBA will raise rates for the first time in more than a decade on Tuesday and join a long list of central banks now expected to tighten policy at a much faster pace than previously thought. The Australian share market is likely to start the week on a muted note following weak closing by US stocks on Friday. Investors are pricing in an interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), in line with its global peers to tame surging inflation but consequently sparking sell-off in equities on growth concerns. Australian share market is likely to start the week on a muted note.

The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) is expected to open lower this morning after US stock markets ended the week on a sour note.

Meanwhile, tech, materials and energy all dropped by more than 1%. Retailer City Chic Ltd ( ASX: CCX) topped the market adding 12.8%, with EML Payments Ltd ( ASX: EML) and Life360 Inc ( ASX:360) down 42% and 24% each. The Kogan share price fell by more than 13% on Friday and is now down more than 50% for the year. Shares in Kogan.com Ltd ( ASX: KGN) were smashed by another weak update, with the company reporting an 11% fall in gross profit for the quarter as sales fell by 3.8% to just $262 million. Earnings remain the primary driver with Origin Energy Ltd ( ASX: ORG) adding 1.9% after management confirmed that revenue from the APLNG production asset had doubled for the year to date to $6.5 billion, with both volumes and prices increasing. The domestic market continues to outperform our global peers, with the S&P/ASX 200 ( ASX: XJO) gaining 1.1% on Friday, but still finishing the week 0.5% lower.

It's coming up to reporting season for the big S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX:XJO) bank shares. Will they be able to deliver on expectations?

The Macquarie share price is valued at 18 times FY22’s estimated earnings. The NAB share price is valued at 16 times FY22’s estimated earnings. The Westpac share price is valued at 15 times FY22’s estimated earnings. Martin suggested that investors would want to hear what the impact of rising rates will mean for bank profitability. The ANZ share price is valued at 13 times FY22’s estimated earnings. Westpac is expected to show it generated $2.8 billion of net profit.

Australian shares fell across the board on Monday, tracking a sell-off on Wall Street with investors bracing for what would be the RBA's first cash rate ...

Evolution Mining shed 2.2 per cent to $3.96. Total transaction value for January-March rose 60 per cent to $419 million from the year-earlier period. NAB and Commonwealth Bank both dropped about 0.9 per cent, but ANZ and Westpac ended the session unchanged. Shares in Xero skidded 6.6 per cent to $90 after touching its lowest level since August 2020. Mining giants were mixed, with Rio Tinto gaining 0.7 per cent to $113.59. BHP and Fortescue Metals ended the session flat. Meanwhile, bond traders are no longer certain of an increase on Tuesday, factoring in a bigger chance the RBA may wait for additional economic data as the minutes of the April policy meeting indicated last month. All 11 sectors on the S&P/ASX 200 fell. Helloworld Travel also had a good day, rising 2.7 per cent to $2.73 on improving travel demand following border reopenings. Also undermining sentiment were concerns about slowing growth in China, Australia’s key trade partner. Biotech Imugene was the biggest index laggard with a 13.7 per cent drop to 19¢ after announcing the termination of its supply agreement with pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. But they are fully priced for a 0.4 percentage point increase in June, and are wagering on a series of rapid increases taking the cash rate to 2.5 per cent by year-end. They are now implying a 73 per cent chance of a lift to 0.25 per cent.

ASX 200 expected to fall again · Reserve Bank meeting · Oil prices rise · Gold price sinks · Woolworths sales update · Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right ...

The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price will be one to watch today when the retail giant releases its third quarter sales update. This will be a year on year increase of 6.4%. “We expect the Australian and New Zealand foods division to report +4% and +5.5% comparable growth respectively and for BigW to see -6% decline in comparable sales,” it adds. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 2.6% to US$1,861.90 an ounce. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.65% to US$105.38.12 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 0.65% to US$107.84 a barrel. Opinion is divided on what action the central bank will take, but many in the market believe it could make a 0.5% increase to the cash rate today. The Reserve Bank will be holding its most important cash rate meeting in years this afternoon.

Australian shares were poised to open lower for a second day as commodity weakness and the prospect of a rate rise this afternoon outweighed a late recovery ...

The S&P/ASX 200 slumped 88 points or 1.18 per cent yesterday in the wake of Friday’s Wall Street bloodbath. Oil rebounded from steep early losses as the mood on equity markets improved. The S&P 500 rallied 23 points or 0.57 per cent. BHP‘s US-traded depositary receipts rallied 0.63 per cent. The London Metal Exchange was closed for Labour Day holidays. In turn, the larger macro forces outlined above will dictate movements.” The likely effect on today’s trade? US stocks finished higher in choppy action as buyers entered in the final hour. The three possible outcomes are: no-change, an increase of 15 basis points to 0.25 per cent, or a bumper 40-point increase to 0.5 per cent. The S&P 500 brushed its lowest level since last May. The dollar hovered around 70.5 US cents. ASX futures declined 25 points or 0.34 per cent.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 25 points or 0.35% lower.

The benchmark index fell 1.2% to 7,347 points. Meanwhile, all eyes would be on the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) as it would be holding an important cash rate meeting this afternoon. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones rose 0.26%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.57%, and the NASDAQ rose 1.63%. The Australian share market is likely to extend its losses to Tuesday despite Wall Street rebounding in the overnight trade. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 25 points or 0.35% lower. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones rose 0.26%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.57%, and the NASDAQ rose 1.63%. Gold prices plunged to near 3-month lows as the prospect of faster-than-anticipated interest rate hikes from the Fed lifted Treasury yields and the greenback. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 25 points or 0.35% lower. The dollar index rose 0.65%, with the euro down 0.36% to US$1.0503. In Europe, the Stoxx 50 fell 1.9%, the CAC dipped 1.7%, and the DAX dipped 1.1%. As per a Reuters poll, the RBA may raise rates for the first time in more than a decade on Tuesday and join a long list of central banks now expected to tighten policy at a much faster pace than previously thought. The Australian share market is likely to extend its losses to Tuesday.

US stocks end higher after a volatile trading session, the Reserve Bank meets today to consider raising interest rates to curb surging inflation, ...

Westpac's Imre Speizer said in a research note that the bank predicted the RBA to raise interest rates today by 0.15 per cent to 0.25 per cent, which is also the market's forecast. Earlier in the session, Brent and West Texas Crude fell on the news that the European Commission may spare Hungary and Slovakia from a Russian oil embargo as it prepares to finalise its next round of sanctions on Russia. "The AGL Energy demerger is on track to be completed by the end of next month," the spokesperson said. The Australian dollar fell 0.2 per cent to 70.49 US cents, with the greenback approaching a 20-year high against a basket of currencies before the expected rate increase this week by the Fed. Official rates were slashed to a record low of 0.1 per cent in 2020 as an emergency response to the coronavirus pandemic. Yesterday, the ASX 200 index fell 1.2 per cent to 7,347. The Reserve Bank is tipped to raise interest rates later today for the first time in 11 years to curb surging inflation, which is running at an annual rate of 5.1 per cent. The Fed meets this week and is expected to raise interest rates by 50 basis points, to 0.75 per cent to 1 per cent, to tackle the strongest price rises in 40 years. The central bank last raised the official cash rate by 0.25 basis points (0.25 per cent) in November 2010, which took the OCR to 4.75 per cent. By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 per cent to 33,062, the S&P 500 gained nearly 0.6 per cent to 4,155, and the Nasdaq increased 1.6 per cent to 12,536. The benchmark S&P 500 rebounded after dropping to the lowest since May 2021, and the Nasdaq fell to the lowest since November 2020 during the session. - The Dow Jones index rose 0.3pc to 33,062, the S&P 500 rose nearly 0.6pc to 4,155, and the Nasdaq rose 1.6pc to 12,536

The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) put in a tough day on Monday as ASX travel shares, such as Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX:QAN) shares made headlines.

Also in the sector, Helloworld shares gained 2.6% to $2.73, while Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd ( ASX: FLT) added 1.8% to $22.99 and Webjet Limited ( ASX: WEB) rose 1.2%, to $6.10. Elsewhere, natural gas producers Beach Energy Limited ( ASX: BPT), Karoon Energy Ltd ( ASX: KAR) and Origin Energy Ltd ( ASX: ORG) were all up as gas prices surged to a 14-year high, following Russia stopping deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria. Qantas’ renewed confidence was backed by travel agency group Helloworld Travel Group Ltd ( ASX: HLO), which told the market that its bookings were up 60% in the March quarter from ayear ago, to $419 million. Qantas Airways Limited ( ASX: QAN) was up 2.9% to $5.76 after the national airline said it was seeing a “strong, sustained recovery in travel demand as Australia transitions to living with COVID” and that it expects to return to profitability next financial year. But the dubious honour of biggest loss in the ASX tech index was Aussie Broadband Ltd ( ASX: ABB), which plunged 28.1% to $4 after downgrading its full-year earnings guidance. WiseTech Global Ltd ( ASX: WTC) dropped 7.3% to $41.97, Xero Limited ( ASX: XRO) gave up 6.6% to $90 after touching its lowest level since August 2020, and Tyro Payments Ltd ( ASX: TYR) slid 5.6% to $1.19.