Market Update & Important Indicators:
Stocks tumbled Friday, with the Dow industrials and S&P 500 posting their biggest percentage losses since the Brexit selloff. Fresh signs that central banks could be backing away from easy-money policies prompted investors to sell shares of dividend payers like utilities and telecommunications companies that have been popular with income-seeking investors while rates have been low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.1%. The S&P 500 declined 2.5%, its biggest one-day drop since June 24. The Nasdaq Composite lost 2.5%. Trading volumes were elevated, traders said, something that typically suggests conviction in the market's move. Recent gains in stock markets have been underpinned by accommodative measures from the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England and Bank of Japan, leaving investors focused on any signs that global central bankers may be changing their tune. Federal funds futures, which are used by traders to place bets on central bank policy, on Friday showed a 24% chance of a U.S. interest-rate rise in September, compared with an 18% chance as of Thursday, according to CME Group.
European stocks declined sharply Friday, cementing a 1.4% loss for the week. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.1% Friday as data showed a steep fall in German exports and after the ECB's decision on Thursday to leave its current stimulus program unchanged frustrated many investors who expected an adjustment to its bond-buying program or hints at other measures to revive the Eurozone economy. European shares fell after the ECB announcement, while the Euro gained against the dollar and the region's sovereign bonds came under pressure.
North Korea's fifth nuclear test weighed on Asian shares Friday, compounding market disappointment over the European Central Bank's inaction on stimulus. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index continued to rally, however, after a Chinese regulator said it would allow domestic insurers to invest in Hong Kong-listed stocks through a trading link with Shanghai. The China Insurance Regulatory Commission's announcement came less than a month after Beijing confirmed it would launch the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect program within 2016. Chinese investors have ploughed into the Hong Kong market partly to hedge against the falling yuan. The Hang Seng, which ended up 0.8% Friday, gained 4.1% for the week and has risen nearly 20.6% in the past six months, making it is the best-performing major benchmark in Asia for that period. In contrast, the Shanghai Composite ended Friday 0.6% lower with the tech-heavy Shenzhen Composite Index closing down 0.7%. The declines came as China released data confirming its producer prices continued to drop in August, signalling flagging demand in the world's second-largest economy, albeit at a slower pace.
Australian shares notched a fourth straight week in the red, with broad selling outside the resources space sending the market to a two-month low Friday. The market opened under a cloud Friday, tracking weakness in U.S. and European markets after the European Central Bank left its EUR1.7 trillion stimulus unchanged at a policy meeting Thursday. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 46.6 points, or 0.9%, to 5339.2–its lowest closing level since July 11.
The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper contract closed down 0.7% at $4,633/t. Most other base metals also fell. Zinc closed down 1.0% at $2,281/t, lead closed down 1.2% at $1,892/t, tin closed down 1.4% at $19,357/t, aluminium closed down 0.9% at $1,560/t, and nickel closed up 0.3% at 10,326/t.
Recent Contacts & Presentations:
Orecorp Limited (ORR), Dimerix Limited (DXB), Genesis Minerals Ltd (GMD), Dakota Minerals Ltd (DKO), Breaker Resources NL (BRB), Bard1 Life Sciences Ltd (BD1), Alto Metals Ltd (AME), Birimian Limited (BGS), Antipa Minerals Ltd (AZY), Vault Intelligence Ltd (VLT), Noxopharm Ltd (NOX), Gage Roads Brewing Co. (GRB), West African Resources (WAF), Cedar Woods Properties Ltd (CWP), Sino Gas & Energy Holdings Ltd (SEH), Salt Lake Potash Ltd (SO4), Kalina Power Ltd (KPO), Austal Limited (ASB), Agrimin Ltd (AMN), Stavely Minerals Ltd (SVY), MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd (MXC), Vital Metals Ltd (VML), Tox Free Solutions Ltd (TOX), Swick Mining Services Ltd (SWK), Davenport Resources Ltd (DAV)