Market Update & Important Indicators:
U.S. stocks stabilized Wednesday as government bonds weakened ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The moves come after the blue chip index, S&P 500, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 all closed at record highs on Tuesday for a second day in a row, spurred by a recent uptick in corporate earnings, a jump in oil prices and hopes that the election of Donald Trump would lead to higher growth and inflation. Many expect the gains to hold in the coming weeks. In other news, U.S. home buying activity rose in October for the second straight month to a new high, according to data released overnight by the National Association of Realtors. October sales of previously owned homes rose at the strongest pace since February 2007.
The Stoxx Europe 600 fell less than 0.1%. The British pound rose 0.2% against the dollar to $1.2449 as investors analysed the U.K.'s Autumn Statement, revealing the government's tax and spending plans after the June referendum on European Union membership. U.K. Treasury chief Philip Hammond said he would aim to close the budget deficit as soon as possible, but not by 2020, and set out plans for infrastructure spending to support the economy.
Asian shares were largely positive Wednesday, taking a lead from record gains in the U.S. overnight driven by post-election exuberance. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed flat and South Korea's Kospi gained 0.2%. Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday closed above 19,000 for the first time. While traders initially reacted badly to the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency-particularly in Asia, where he is seen as sceptical of free-trade pacts-investors are coming around to the idea that his aggressive stimulus plans will counter most negatives. Mr. Trump has promised to increase spending on infrastructure, which would lift global prices for steel and cement. Demand for commodities, especially copper, would also benefit, Mr. Spooner said. Chinese steel stocks rose early Wednesday with iron-ore futures surging 8.5% on the Dalian Commodity Exchange Wednesday morning. The Shanghai Composite closed down 0.2% even as sinking bond yields push money into equities.
A second day of strong gains lifted Australian shares to their highest in almost three months, as mining stocks helped lead broad buying after a jump in commodity prices. Markets across the region took their lead from fresh records for major U.S. stock indexes in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, while the local market also benefited from higher prices for iron ore, copper and other resources. In the strongest advance in almost two weeks, the S&P/ASX 200 picked up 71.1 points, or 1.3%, to 5484.4–the highest level since late August, when the index last closed above the 5500 mark. The materials subindex gained 2%, the basket of energy stocks rose 1.3% and financial stocks added 1.1%. Iron-ore prices which jumped 5.7% on Tuesday to US$73.80 a metric ton continued to push higher, while copper futures resumed their climb. Oil prices appeared to pause during Asian trade Wednesday as traders awaited the upcoming meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries next week.
Copper for three-month delivery rose 2.3% at $5,740/t on the London Metal Exchange. Meanwhile, all other base metals rose. Aluminium prices rose 0.8% to $1,780/t, nickel rose 2.0% to $11,554/t, zinc rose 2.7% to $2,656/t, tin rose 0.9% to $21,480/t and lead rose 1.4% to $2,208/t.
Recent Contacts & Presentations:
Orocobre Ltd (ORE), Alchemy Resources Ltd (ALY), Acacia Coal Ltd (AJC), Minotaur Exploration Ltd (MEP), Northern Minerals Ltd (NTU), Walkabout Resources Ltd (WKT), Antipa Minerals Ltd (AZY), Noxopharm Limited (NOX), Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BOT), Emerald Resources NL (EMR), Metals of Africa Ltd (MTA), Stavely Minerals Ltd (SVY), Australis Oil & Gas Ltd (ATS), Davenport Resources Ltd (DAV), TFS Corporation Limited (TFC), Emmerson Resources Ltd (ERM), Syntonic Ltd (SYT), MZI Resources Ltd (MZI), Resolute Mining Ltd (RSG), Orthocell Ltd (OCC), Capricorn Metals Ltd (CMM), Eve Investments Ltd (EVE) , Australian Mines Ltd (AUZ), Heron Resources Ltd (HRR)
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