Market Update & Important Indicators
The Dow Jones Industrial Average headed toward its second day of losses as oil prices resumed their slide, pulling energy shares lower. The blue-chip index has wobbled since oil fell into a bear market on Tuesday, renewing concerns among analysts that there could be a more severe pullback in commodity prices. Energy stocks, the worst-performing sector in the S&P 500 this year, have fallen more than any other group in the broad index so far this week. The Dow industrials fell 57 points, or 0.3%, to 21410. The S&P 500 lost less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.7%, boosted by gains in the shares of health-care companies. U.S. crude for August delivery fell 2.3% to $42.53 a barrel — its lowest settlement since August — after government data showed U.S. oil output continuing to rise last week. Energy shares in the S&P 500 fell 1.5%, deepening their declines for the year.
European stocks marched lower Wednesday, as the energy sector was dragged down by sliding oil prices and as the departure of a key ally of President Emmanuel Macron hit French equities. The Stoxx Europe 600 lost 0.2% to close at 388.50, marking a second straight loss. France's CAC 40 index lost the most ground among major benchmarks as it dropped 0.4% to 5,274.26.
Stocks across the Asia-Pacific region mostly fell amid losses in energy companies and banks, with the Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.5% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index falling 0.6%. Mainland China markets inched higher, however, after MSCI said it would include China A-shares in its emerging-markets index, meaning funds that track it will automatically allocate money into China. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.5%.
Australian shares weakened to a two-week low Wednesday as a fall in commodity prices dragged mining and energy companies lower and banks faced a second day of selling. Weakness in U.S. stocks as oil prices slipped to their lowest levels since September set the tone for the local market, which was exacerbated by a pullback in iron-ore prices and renewed concerns over the outlook for the country's banks. After an initial sharp fall, the S&P/ASX 200 held a fairly narrow range to finish near the session low with a drop of 91.6 points, or 1.6%, to 5665.7. It was the sharpest single-day decline of the year.
The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper contract closed 1.5% higher on Tuesday at $5,718/t. The other base metals also gained ground. Lead prices rose 2.8% to 2,164/t, nickel prices gained 2.1% to 8,953/t whilst zinc prices lifted 3.4% to 2632/t. Bucking the trend was aluminium prices falling 1.0% to 1858/t. Tin prices finished flat at 19,625/t.
Recent Contacts & Presentations
Great Boulder Resources Ltd (GBR), Finders Resources Ltd (FND), Bionomics Ltd (BNO), 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)
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