Note: Figures recorded at 7:40am AEDT. Updated figures and a video recording will be available at 9am AEDT.
Stocks jumped Tuesday after fresh U.S. inflation data was about in line with expectations, clearing the way for investors to resume buying high-flying tech names such as Nvidia and Meta Platforms.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 262 points, or 0.6%. The S&P 500 ticked up 1.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.5%.
Shares of chipmaker Nvidia climbed more than 5%. Microsoft gained 2.6%, and Meta popped 3%. Oracle surged more than 11% after beating Wall Street earnings estimates.
The consumer price index climbed 0.4% in February and 3.2% year over year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Tuesday. Economist polled by Dow Jones expected a 0.4% increase last month and 3.1% year-over-year, respectively. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy from the headline reading, climbed 0.4% in February, compared to a forecast gain of 0.3%.
Investors now turn their attention to the producer price index report due this week and the Fed’s next monetary policy meeting later this month.
In broader market news the Small-cap names bucked Tuesday’s uptrend in the market. The small cap-focused Russell 2000 slid 0.2% in Tuesday’s session. That aligns with the broader trend of underperformance among smaller stocks. The Russell 2000 is up less than 2% in 2024, while the S&P 500 has climbed more than 8%.
The current price of lithium carbonate in China has surged to its peak since December after experiencing a staggering drop of over 80% in 2023. This drastic decline has prompted several producers to scale back their output. Core Lithium Ltd. notably halted some mining activities to trim cash expenses, attributing it to the substantial price downturn. According to UBS, the lithium market is undergoing a rebalancing phase as the industry adjusts production and project plans.
Today's local data includes the release of the CBA Household Spending Insights report alongside the monthly business turnover indicator. Additionally, at 10:30 am in Sydney, Ellis Connolly, the Reserve Bank's head of payments policy, is scheduled to speak.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE added 1.02 per cent, Frankfurt gained 1.23 per cent, and Paris closed 0.84 per cent higher.
Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.06 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 3.05 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.41 per cent..
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.11 per cent higher at 7,712.53.
Ex-dividends
Bisalloy Steel (ASX:BIS) is paying 8 cents fully franked
Brambles Limited (ASX:BXB) is paying 23.09 cents 35 per cent franked
Downer EDI Limited (ASX:DOW) is paying 6 cents unfranked
Data#3 Limited (ASX:DTL) is paying 12.6 cents fully franked
Glennon SML Co Ltd (ASX:GC1) is paying 1 cent fully franked
Ivegroup (ASX:IGL) is paying 9.5 cents fully franked
Imdex Limited (ASX:IMD) is paying 1.5 cents fully franked
Mercury NZ Limited (ASX:MCY) is paying 8.7258 cents unfranked
Peppermoney (ASX:PPM) is paying 5 cents fully franked
Perpetual Limited (ASX:PPT) is paying 65 cents 35 per cent franked
Thorney Opp Ltd (ASX:TOP) is paying 1.05 cents fully franked
Dividends payable
Lendlease Group (ASX:LLC)
Sequoia Financial Group Ltd (ASX:SEQ)
TPC Consolidated Ltd (ASX:TPC)
Reef Casino Trust (ASX:RCT)
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.
