Market Update & Important Indicators
U.S. stocks retreated broadly intraday, with retail and technology companies suffering some of the biggest losses. All 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down in recent trading, as were the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500. The Dow industrials declined 179 points, or 0.8%, to 21846, while the S&P 500 shed 1%. The Nasdaq Composite was down 1.3%. Wall Street's "fear gauge," the CBOE Volatility Index, jumped 23%. Major U.S. stock indexes were on track for their biggest declines since last Thursday, when a spate of weak earnings and tensions with North Korea roiled markets around the world. A day after some retailers helped U.S. stocks bounce back, brick-and-mortar stores were once again contributing to broader market declines. The U.S. gold price gained overnight, adding 0.4% to finish at 1,287.50 US$/oz.
European stocks broke a three-day winning run, with bank shares dragged down by doubts about another U.S. interest rate hike in 2017, while the euro came under further pressure following minutes from the European Central Bank's meeting last month. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.6% to close at 376.87, led by losses for financial and oil-and-gas shares. The Stoxx Europe 600 Bank Index dropped 1.7% — the biggest one-day percentage drop since May – on the dimmer rate-hike outlook, as many European banks have operations in the U.S. and higher rates can aid net interest margins. Germany's DAX 30 index ended down 0.5% at 12,203.46 and France's CAC 40 index fell 0.6% to 5,146.85. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index dropped 0.6% to 7,387.87.
Global equities rebound continued in Asia, after minutes of the Federal Reserve's July meeting showed disagreement over the timeline for future interest-rate increases in the U.S. Many benchmarks in the region were up 0.3% to 0.5%, with tech-heavy Taiwan and South Korea exceeding that range. The Nikkei fell slightly amid weakness in insurance and energy stocks, respectively hit by falling Treasury yields and oil prices overnight. The Nikkei eased 0.1% for a second-straight session, to 19702.63 in dropping for the sixth day in seven. Shanghai shares got a lift from continued gains in metals prices, including a run to 10-year high for zinc. The benchmark stock index rose 0.4% in morning action.
Australian stocks paused after three sessions of gains despite further advances in much of the rest of the Asia Pacific region. Up slightly in early trading, equities prices slowly fell as the afternoon progressed, resulting in the S&P/ASX 200 finishing down 0.1% at 5779.2. That despite gains in metals stocks amid continued gains in commodity prices. The session standout was Telstra, which slumped 11% in its worst day since December 2008 after saying future dividends will be scaled back. Meanwhile, the big banks pulled back some, also weighing on the index. In other earnings news, QBE Insurance slid 7.1% while ASX gained 1.4%, Treasury Wine climbed 3% and Cochlear jumped 7.2%.
The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper contract traded lower overnight, falling 0.6% to $6,490/t. Most other base metals finished lower, retracing after yesterdays gains. Aluminium prices lost 0.8% to 2,083/t, whilst lead prices dropped 4.3% to 2,390/t. Tin prices added 0.9% to 20,310/t, but zinc prices pulled back 1.8% to 3,053/t. Nickel prices were also lower, shedding 0.3% to finish at 10,671/t.
Recent Contacts & Presentations
New Century Zinc Ltd (NCZ), Metal Bank Ltd (MBK), Rift Valley Resources Ltd (RVY), Panoramic Resources Ltd (PAN), Doray Minerals Ltd (DRM), Wellard Limited (WLD), Bryah Resources Ltd (BYH), Auris Minerals Ltd (AUR), Gage Roads Brewing Co Ltd (GRB), Stavely Minerals Ltd (SVY), Orbital Corporation Ltd (OEC), 4DS Memory Ltd (4DS), Kin Mining NL (KIN), Pharmaust Limited (PAA), Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BOT), Dimerix Ltd (DXB), Metro Mining Ltd (MMI), Paringa Resources Ltd (PNL), Independence Group NL (IGO), MZI Resources Ltd (MZI), Transerv Energy Ltd (TSV), Emmerson Resources Ltd (ERM), Antipa Minerals Ltd (AZY), Echo Resources Ltd (EAR), Sovereign Metals Ltd (SVM)
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