by Paul Sanger
At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.01 per cent or 1 point lower at 6974.90.
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 26 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 5.50 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 29.50 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 2 points when the market next opens.
Asia-Pacific shares traded higher on Thursday following the rally on Wall Street and as investors move on from the tensions over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit to Taiwan.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped more 2 per cent earlier in the session and was last up 1.45 per cent. The Hang Seng Tech index rose 2.21 per cent, with shares of Alibaba popping around 4 per cent ahead of its earnings results later Thursday. The Chinese e-commerce giant could see revenue decline for the first time on record, according to analysts’ average forecast on Refinitiv. But that could be the floor for Alibaba as revenue is expected to improve going forward. Meituan shares also rose around 2.65 per cent, while JD.com gained 4.46 per cent.
Mainland China markets fell for two straight sessions, but rose slightly on Thursday. The Shanghai Composite added 0.15 per cent and the Shenzhen Component climbed fractionally higher.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.56 per cent, while the Topix index was flat. The Kospi in South Korea gained 0.28 per cent and the Kosdaq advanced 1.15 per cent.
Bonds mixed with JGB, Aussie and New Zealand curves flattened and Treasury yields reversed lower.
Dollar little changed against majors.
Crude and base metals leading commodity market gains.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Information Technology, up 1.87 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Energy, down 2.24 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was PointsBet Holdings (ASX:PBH), closing 11.58 per cent higher at $3.18. It was followed by shares in Imugene (ASX:IMU)and Life360 (ASX:360).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Orica (ASX:ORI), closing 9.30 per cent lower at $15.60. It was followed by shares in GrainCorp (ASX:GNC) and Zip Co (ASX:ZIP).
Recent Fed pushback against expectations of a dovish pivot in 2023 have led markets to dial back rate cut projections and price in additional tightening in 2023. Fed’s Barkin said will do what it takes to return inflation to target, Daly backed a 50 bp rate hike in September and Kashkari said rate cuts next year are “very unlikely.” Continued yield curve inversion also heightening concerns about a recession and a policy mistake.
While markets appear to have moved on from Pelosi’s Taiwan visit, political fallout continues with Taiwan scrambling jets after following Beijing’s military provocations on the Strait. Also concerns China will widen its economic retaliation against Taipei. Few articles have highlighted White House efforts to deter Pelosi from visiting and block lawmakers from strengthening US policy toward Taiwan.
Company News
Brookside Energy (ASX:BRK) provided an update to shareholders today confirming the establishment of commercial production at their Flames Well in the Anadarko Basin. Flame Well is now producing premium light sweet crude and liquids rich gas, the unhedged production is allowing the company to take full advantage of the current strong pricing environment. Brookside Energy’s Managing Director David Prentice commented “ The establishment of commercial production on our Flame Well is a fantastic achievement on its own, but when combined with the now sustained production from our other two wells, it marks the achievement of a company making milestone”. Shares closed up 6.67 per cent higher at 1.6 cents.
Anson Resources ( ASX:ASN) today announced further increases in lithium grades from its current drilling campaign at the Paradox Lithium Project in UTAH, USA. Based on these results, the Company plans to confirm a JORC resource upgrade incorporating all of the Clastic Zone horizons and the Mississippian Units to add to the Project’s existing JORC resource. Shares closed up 8 per cent higher at 13.5 cents.
American Rare Earths ( ASX:ARR) today announced Assay Results from new claims area “bluegrass” showing significant upside for Halleck Creek. These results are on the back of an outstanding maiden drill campaign announced in June and July, demonstrating Halleck Creek as potentially one of the largest, rare-earth projects in the US. MD and CEO Chris Gibbs commented: “Halleck Creek continues to exceed our expectations.” “These are very exciting results for the Company coming soon after the highly encouraging drill results from the maiden drill program completed at Halleck Creek earlier this year.” Shares closed up 8 per cent higher at 27 cents.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1769.83 an ounce.
Iron ore is 4.6 per cent lower at US$108.10 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 3.6 per cent.
Light crude is trading $0.11 lower at US$90.55 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 69.65 US cents.
