Weekly Wrap

A multi-day rally for the S&P 500 came to an end after cooler-than-expected inflation data for June pushed traders to bet on more interest rate cuts this year.

Wall Street reacted nervously on Thursday to good news on inflation. The Dow was up, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down for the session.

In the value chain race, Apple remained on top, with its value rising nearly 1.9% to a massive $US3.57 trillion, around $US100 billion ahead of Microsoft, whose value rose nearly 1.5% to around $US3.47 trillion.

The June inflation data from China presented mixed messages on Wednesday, as economic activity and the government’s ongoing support measures failed to gain real traction with consumers and depressed sectors of the economy.

During the second quarter of this year, short sellers capitalized on their strategy of betting against stocks, amassing a substantial $10 billion in paper profits despite the broader market's upward trajectory.

Now, this will confuse economists, analysts, and the members of the Reserve Bank second-guessers in the business media. According to the latest National Australia Bank survey for June, business conditions fell (no surprise), but business confidence jumped to 18-month highs (a big surprise).

Apple shares continued their recent bounce on Monday, reclaiming the top spot as the world’s most valuable company.

The European Central Bank needs to see more robust evidence that inflation is steadily moving towards the 2 percent target before contemplating additional interest rate cuts, ECB President Christine Lagarde stated.

The European Union will start imposing provisional countervailing duties on imports of electric vehicles (EVs) from China today, July 5, while negotiations with China continue for a more permanent arrangement.

Australia’s plan to halve the number of net migrants entering the country may not be enough to curb still-rising inflation, economists say.

Final opinion polls have confirmed Britain’s Conservative Party government is on course for a record-breaking defeat after all but conceding defeat a day before the election (tonight, Australian time).

Oil prices held firm near their highest levels in two months, driven by indications of a major reduction in US crude inventories.

New figures released on Tuesday have further confounded views about the health of the US economy and labor market, which appear to be stronger than expected, with an unexpected rise in vacancies in May following a deeper-than-reported fall in April.

Shares in Tesla rose 10% on Tuesday after it revealed a quarterly sales performance that wasn’t as bad as analysts and others had forecast.

Higher-than-expected inflation will take at least 12 months to approach the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) target, raising doubts about Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ optimistic forecast and complicating prospects for interest rate relief before the next federal election.

Job vacancy data for May support explanations about the continuing strength of the Australian labour market.

The US Federal Reserve has given the country’s biggest banks, including some big regionals and credit card operators, a clean bill of health in its latest stress tests.

For the second time this month, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has cut its holding in Chinese EV and battery giant BYD.

How quickly the mighty fall, or a correction time for Nvidia so soon after reaching the top.

There were two not unexpected results from meetings of two major central banks on Thursday—the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank.