Market Update & Important Indicators:
U.S. stocks fell Friday, ending a week dominated by quarterly earnings reports. For the week, the S&P 500 fell 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%. The weekly losses coincided with a selloff in government bonds. On Friday, stocks pulled back from earlier gains after the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was reviewing new evidence in connection with its investigation of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's email server. Some of the initial selling was likely triggered by algorithmic trading platforms that analyse news headlines for certain words or phrases, mark them as negative or positive, and buy and sell stocks or bonds accordingly, some traders said. Investors and traders have been nervous in recent weeks ahead of the U.S. presidential election, making the market susceptible to shifts in expectations about who will win. Earlier Friday, stocks were rising after the Commerce Department said gross domestic product expanded at an inflation- and seasonally adjusted 2.9% annual rate in the third quarter, exceeding the second quarter's pace of 1.4%. The improved U.S. economic data helped offset several weaker-than-expected quarterly results from U.S. companies, capping a busy week for corporate earnings reports. More than half of S&P 500 companies have reported so far.
In European equity markets, Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer, cut its revenue forecast, sending its shares down 4.3% in Europe. The Stoxx Europe 600 slipped 0.3%, losing 1% for the week.
Japan's Nikkei was the standout performer Friday during a lacklustre trading session in Asian equities, with gains in global bond yields lifting shares of Japanese financial firms. The Nikkei Stock Average ended up 0.6%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was off 0.8% and Korea's Kospi fell 0.2%. Improved financial results from Deutsche Bank and solid post-Brexit U.K. growth helped boost risk appetite among investors, fuelling selling of global government bonds. The higher yields boosted shares of Japanese financial stocks. The Nikkei's gains also came despite disappointing inflation data Friday. The Bank of Japan said Friday that its preferred inflation gauge rose 0.2% from a year earlier in September. The data followed a string of figures released earlier in the day by the government. The government's core CPI, seen as Japan's primary price gauge, fell 0.5% in September. The BOJ uses government data to come up with its own consumer price figures.
Australian shares fell for a third straight day Friday, dragging the market to its sharpest weekly loss in four months. Gains by mining and energy stocks to close out the week weren't enough to offset the broad selling in the marketplace. Despite beginning the day in positive territory, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 11.7 points, or 0.2%, to finish at a six-week closing low of 5283.8. For the week, the index lost 2.7%. For the day, 2.79 billion shares were traded worth 6.87 billion Australian dollars (US$5.21 billion), Commonwealth Securities said.
Copper for delivery in three months was recently up 1.1% at $4,843/t on the London Metal Exchange. Aluminium prices rose 1.3% to $1,719/t, tin rose 1.2% to $20,840/t, nickel rose 0.6% to $10,395/t, zinc rose 1.5% to $2,391/t, and lead rose 0.9% to $2,052/t.
Recent Contacts & Presentations:
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), Orthocell Ltd (OCC), BC Iron Limited (BCI), ALT Resources Ltd (ARS), Gascoyne Resources Ltd (GCY), Dacian Gold (DCN), 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)
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