Market Update & Important Indicators:
Stocks slipped intraday while gold and U.S. government bonds gained, signalling a note of caution among investors. Stocks' declines put major U.S. indexes on course for a second straight day of losses after they closed at records last week. Some analysts said there were few potential catalysts for markets ahead of several scheduled events, including the U.K. general election, testimony by former FBI director James Comey and next week's Federal Reserve meeting. Assets that investors typically consider havens gained, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note touching a new 2017 low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 28 points, or 0.2%, to 21156 intraday. The S&P 500 fell 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite edged down less than 0.1%. Rising for the day was the U.S. gold price which jumped 1.1% to 1,293.60 US$/oz.
European stocks closed lower, as investors erred on the side of caution ahead of potentially market-moving events later this week, including the U.K.'s general election and a European Central Bank meeting. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.7% to end at 389.40. That marked the regional benchmark's lowest close since May 18, or nearly three weeks ago, according to FactSet data. More broadly, investors took a wary approach as they counted down to big event risks on Thursday. That day, British voters head to the polls in a general election that is looking increasingly difficult to call, sparking concerns about how Brexit negotiations will pan out.
Asian shares ended broadly lower with declines in Japan offsetting gains in China and Hong Kong markets. A stronger yen sent the Nikkei Stock Average down by 1%. The Hang Seng Index ended up 0.6% after stocks of Chinese real estate developers gained amid buying from mainland Chinese investors. The Shanghai benchmark index added 0.3%. Markets in Taiwan, Singapore and India registered declines on profit-taking ahead of the U.K. elections, the ECB meeting and former FBI director James Comey's public testimony. Thailand's SET index closed nearly flat amid a mixed performance by stock markets across Asia. The benchmark adds 2.10 points, or 0.1%, to close at 1568.95 with gainers nearly matching losers 549 to 535. Malaysia's benchmark KLCI ended marginally higher in mixed trade with telecom stocks gaining while financial sector stocks took a hit. The KLCI closed up 0.2% at 1569.18 points. Indonesian shares drifted lower, taking a cue from declines in most other regional markets. The JSX index ended down 0.7% at 5707.831, with 219 decliners and 115 gainers.
The S&P/ASX 200 ended down 1.5% at 5,667 on the back of sharp declines in commodity and oil stocks. Australia's Big 4 banking stocks fell an average of 1.5%. Brokerages cut estimates of first-quarter economic growth to the lowest since the third quarter of 2009. That came as Australia posted a current-account deficit for the quarter, the first since 1975.
The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper contract closed 0.21% lower on Tuesday at $5,616/t. All other base metals finished lower. Aluminium prices fell 0.1% to 1,898/t, lead prices dropped 1.5% to 2,051/t, nickel prices shed 0.6% to 8,816/t, tin prices fell 2.3% to 19,779/t, and zinc prices shed 1.1% to 2,442/t.
Recent Contacts & Presentations:
Threat Protect Australia Ltd (TPS), Ramelius Resources Ltd (RMS), Zenith Energy Ltd (ZEN), Blackham Resources Ltd (BLK), Top End Minerals Ltd (TND), Northern Star Resources Ltd (NST), Xanadu Mines Ltd (XAM), Dacian Gold (DCN), Egan Street Resources Ltd (EGA), Alice Queen Ltd (AQX), Paringa Resources Ltd (PNL), AWE Limited (AWE), Saracen Mineral Holdings Ltd (SAR), Red River Resources Ltd (RVR), Vital Metals Ltd (VML), Prairie Mining Ltd (PDZ), Hotcopper Holdings Ltd (HOT), Resolute Mining Ltd (RSG), Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BOT), Pantoro Ltd (PNR), Beadell Resources Ltd (BDR), Investigator Resources Ltd (IVR)