Trading Day: live markets coverage; plus analysis and opinion
Aussie investors eke out meagre gains as US and Asian peers dance to the tune of record highs and 26-year milestones.
And that’s the Trading Day blog for Thursday January 18.
Samantha Woodhill 4.30pm: Stocks shrug offshore milestones
The local share market closed flat in a lacklustre session as early gains pared back throughout the session and vanished entirely on an aggressive sell off in the closing match.
At the close of trade, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 1.214 points or 0.02 per cent at 6014.6 points. The broader All Ordinaries index was down 3.944 points or 0.06 per cent, at 6130.4 points.
IG chief market strategist Chris Weston said the local market seemed to be missing a catalyst to push higher, sellers taking the reins from unwilling buyers.
“We saw the market tail off from the open,” he said.
“There’s not a lot of buyers I think that’s the issue. There’s a few sellers out there but there’s just not a lot of people sitting on the bid to push these markets higher.”
The benchmark index was on track close up 0.2 per cent until a large sale in the final seconds of trade completely erased the margin.
In financials, NAB stepped up 0.17 per cent to $29.23. Commonwealth Bank inched up 0.26 per cent to $79.90 while Westpac put on 1.04 per cent to $30.95. ANZ made 0.6 per cent to $28.53.
BHP put on 0.13 per cent to $30.78 despite being hit with enforcement action after alleged safety breaches of an offshore rig in West Australia. Rio Tinto put on 0.48 per cent to $78.83.
4.04pm: Hammer brought down on bank shares
The outlook for banks is “unlikely to improve any time soon”, according to UBS analyst Jonathan Mott.
Housing credit growth slowed to 0.4pc m/m in November from a peak of 0.57pc in May, according to Mr. Motts analysis, while non-bank lenders are taking market share with sectorial credit growth the highest since 2007.
“The banks have a challenging outlook as the housing market slows, NIM comes under pressure from competition and switching from interest-only to principal and interest, offsetting improved funding,” Mr Mott says.
“The Royal Commission is an area of material uncertainty, while mortgage mis-selling and responsible lending risks are a growing concern.”
Given regulatory risk and lack of leverage to global rates and growth in particular, Mr. Mott expects Australian banks to continue underperforming offshore peers.
3.43pm: Expect returns from bank shares: Macquarie
Macquarie sees “relative value” in banks and has upgraded the sector to “overweight” from a “neutral” rating.
Banks analyst Victor German notes that the sector now trades at a 30pc discount to Industrials versus a long-term average of 20pc.
“While the underlying earnings growth profile remains subdued, in a low growth and favourable credit environment, we expect banks to return capital to shareholders via special dividends and buybacks,” he says.
He also lifts Westpac to “outperform” from “neutral” with a new target price of $35.00 vs. $34.50 previously.
3.35pm: WATCH: Matt Chambers on BHP
3.00pm: 82k degrees of ASX separation
26,000: The new Dow milestone
Wall Street rebounded strongly overnight as the Dow breached a new 1000 point milestone only eight days after its last. The Wall Street Journal reports market observers dubbed this phenomenon Fear of Missing Out, or a “melt-up” market as records fall on an almost weekly basis and investors appear to stampede in without worrying much about valuation or fundamentals.
+
24,000: Nikkei ends 26-year drought
Japanese stocks and heavyweight exporters shrug off recent yen strength on a weaker greenback to hit heights unseen for 26 years — an ultra-accommodative BoJ with productivity headaches gifted headline grease for its policy levers
+
32,000: Heng Seng books all-time record at brunch
A swift break of never-before-seen territory by the Hang Heng over 32,000 caps off a bullish run by investors into China’s fourth-quarter GDP read due this evening.
Headline 6.8pc growth expected by economists would be at a rate slightly lower than the same read a year ago, however equity traders appear forgiving, at least in the short term, as the nation attempts a precipitous deleveraging highwire act.
2.6 points: Today’s gains on the S&P/ASX200
Local stocks have some serious catch up to do to share in the day’s euphoria as heavyweight bank and mining stocks fail to provide the market a clear lead – just over an hour of trade remains.
Michael Roddan 2.42pm: ANZ fined $5m for loan practices
ANZ Banking Group has admitted it breached responsible lending provisions two dozen times and will pay $5 million in remediation for selling customers dodgy loans through its previously-owned Esanda car finance business.
ANZ may also be on the hook for a separate penalty, which will be decided by the Federal Court, which has a first case hearing in early February.
The bank has struck a settlement agreement with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission after the watchdog launched a Federal Court action against the bank for loans sold through three brokers to ANZ — read more
ANZ last $28.60
2.23pm: The Trading Day ahead
Join the conversation with our Trading Day experts for breaking news and analysis in financial markets here and on Sky News Business (Ch: 602)
NOW: Matthew Peter — Chief Economist, QIC
2.30pm: Nick Twindale — COO, Rakuten Securities
2.45pm: Matt Chambers — Resources Reporter, The Austarlian
3.00pm: Richard Seville — CEO, Orocobre
(All times in AEDT)
2.08pm: Bitcoin, bellhops and shoeshine boys
Those sceptical of the cryptocurrency mania will feel vindicated after the two-day meltdown in the “currencies” this week.
After an extraordinary run-up in December, in which the largest of the cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, reached $US19,511, the value of cryptocurrencies imploded this week. Bitcoin fell as low as $US9186 overnight.
It is premature to declare this the bad ending that Warren Buffet recently foretold for the sector, but it highlights the fundamental flaw in the conviction of the true believers in the role bitcoin and its peers might play in the global financial system future. They see cryptocurrencies displacing fiat currencies, sidelining central banks and governments.
1.55pm: ANZ face $5m fines for faulty loans
ANZ faces allegations it failed to take reasonable steps to verify borrower’s information on 12 car loan applications lodged through former subsidiary Esanda, ASIC today launching regulatory action against the bank on the claims including around $5m in remediation.
ANZ last $28.60
1.34pm: Whitehaven cut to ‘sell’ at Citi
Citi has downgraded Whitehaven Coal to “sell” vs. “neutral”, while lifting its target price lowered to $4.20 vs. $4.00.
Whitehaven’s December quarter saleable coal production of 5mt was 19pc below his estimate and attributable production of 3.8mt was 8pc below, though coal sales of 5.8mt were 10pc ahead, partly due to 0.4mt of purchased coal.
He adds that the realised price of US$98/t for thermal was in-line with his forecasts, although realised semisoft price of US$113/t was US$3/t below his estimate.
WHC last down 4.9pc on $4.46
12.39pm: ASX taps negative space, rebounds
Local shares briefly dip into the red during lunchtime trade as a swift 0.6 per cent reversal in Commonwealth Bank shares weighs on the broader sharemarket.
CBA now swings back toward flat, the S&P/ASX200 index tracking it back into the black and last traded up 2 point on 6018 on normal volume for this point in the session.
SWINGS STOCKS
+ Nanosonics (3.3pc), Sirtex Medical (2.5pc), Speedcast International (1.8pc), Nufarm (1.5pc)
— Whitehaven Coal (4.3pc), Galaxy Securities (3.9pc), Syrah Resources (3.5pc) MYOB Group (2.6pc)
12.08pm: Nikkei hits 24,000 in 26y milestone
Tokyo’s main stock index broke above the 24,000-mark on Thursday for the first time in more than 26 years, following a decent rally on Wall Street.
The Nikkei 225 index gained 0.86 per cent, or 204.62 points, to 24,072.96 in early trade, trading above the key psychological 24,000-mark for the first time since November 1991.
The broader Topix index was also up by 0.77 per cent, or 14.60 points, at 1,905.42.
“Investors are tracking the upward trend following US stock rallies,” said Kyoko Amemiya, senior market adviser at SBI Securities, adding that a favourable outlook for the world economy was also supporting the market.
The US dollar fetched 111.27 yen in early Asian trade, barely changed from 111.26 yen in New York late Wednesday.
Japanese exporters were among the gainers, with Advantest, a maker of semiconductor-testing devices, jumping 4.14 per cent to 2,361 yen and Kyocera, electronic components maker, rising 2.06 per cent to 7,808 yen.
Toshiba was up 0.63 per cent at 316 yen after it confirmed in a statement that it will avoid a humiliating delisting from the main stock exchange following a large capital injection.
AFP
11.56pm: The Trading Day ahead
Join the conversation with our Trading Day experts for breaking news and analysis in financial markets here and on Sky News Business (Ch: 602)
NOW: Martin Crabb — Shaw and Partners
12.00pm: Glenn Crichton from Balleau Holst and Chris Conway from Australia Stock Report
12.15pm: Simon Boulton — Director, Aequalis
12.45pm: David De Garis — Director of Economics, NAB
(All times in AEDT)
11.45am: Super debt raises property concerns
UBS analysts say rising household debt to income and falling house prices highlight the pressures facing the household sector.
They note that Australian household debt is now 200pc of disposable income, after the ABS revised up debt levels to include new APRA reporting for Registered Superannuation Entities.
“This led to a further 3pc increase in household debt as leverage in Self Managed Superannuation Funds was fully incorporated,” they say.
The ratio of household debt to disposable income consequently jumped from 194pc to 200pc, one of the highest in the world.
At the same time house prices in January continued to slide in Sydney and have peaked in Melbourne, according to the analysts.
They expect house prices to keep falling due to macro-prudential tightening, pressure on the banks to improve lax underwriting standards, less foreign buyers and concerns over the potential impact of the Labor Party’s proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax.
11.30am: Jobless rate, job adds rose in December
Aussie jobs data was overall better than expected with jobs growth of 34,700 — more than twice the 15,000 consensus estimate — in the 14th straight month of jobs growth.
The jobless rate unexpectedly crept up to 5.5pc from a decade low of 5.4pc, however the participation rate also rose to 65.7pc from 65.5pc.
Part-time jobs growth of 19,500 was slightly stronger than full-time jobs growth of 15,100, while November jobs growth was upwardly revised 2,000 to 63,600.
AUD/USD spiked from 0.7971 to 0.7996 before falling back to 0.7953.
Trend employment growth of 3.3pc per annum was the strongest since September 2005, according to ABS notes.
The key point remains employment continues to grow strongly, but the blip in unemployment won’t stop the RBA tightening this year if wages pick up.
11.16am: DATA: Decade-low jobless rate to hold
Domestic employment data for December are due at 11.30am (AEDT).
Consensus estimates are for the unemployment rate to remain at a decade low of 5.4pc according to Bloomberg.
Employment growth in line with trend growth of around 15,000 is expected after a 61,600 rise in November.
The consensus is assuming that the labour force participation rate stays at 65.5 per cent.
Matt Chambers 11.09am: BHP faces safety breach claims
BHP Billiton has been hit with enforcement action after alleged safety breaches on a West Australian offshore rig that inspectors said risked injury or death from an explosion or fire, with the big miner’s senior management set to be hauled before the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority to explain.
The breaches were found after NOPSEMA conducted an inspection of the Ocean Monarch drill rig, owned by Diamond Offshore and contracted by BHP, during decommissioning of the Griffin oilfield northeast of Exmouth — more to come
BHP last $31.23
10.56am: The Trading Day ahead
Join the conversation with our Trading Day experts for breaking news and analysis in financial markets here and on Sky News Business (Ch: 602)
11.00am: Shane Garrett — Senior Economist, HIA
11.15am: Daniel Hynes — Senior Commodity Strategist, ANZ
11.30am: Paul Bloxham — Chief Economist, HSBC
(All times in AEDT)
10.36am: ASX swing stocks in early trade
+ Sirtex (2.5pc), Nanosonics (2.3pc), Westpac (1.7pc), BHP (1.4pc), Dulux (1.4pc)
— Whitehaven Coal (6pc), Saracern Mineral Holdings (2.8pc), Resolute Mining (2.6pc), Harvey Norman (2pc)
10.23am: Stocks lift ahead of jobs data
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 share index opens up 0.2 per cent higher at 6030.2 following a strong recovery on Wall Street.
Major banks and miners lead gains in the ASX10, BHP and Westpac outperforming with gains over 1.5 per cent.
Commodities were mostly weaker overnight apart from slight gains in crude oil and aluminium..
On Wall St, the S&P 500 rose 0.9pc to 2802.6 amid strong gains in Apple, Alphabet and Berkshire Hathaway.
Apple said it will repatriate $38 billion after changes to the tax code and invest that in the US over the next 5 years.
That’s about 15pc of Apple’s overseas cash and that given estimates that corporate America has $3.1 trillion in profits held overseas, NAB estimates 15 per cent of that would be about $465 billion.
Ahead, China is due to release quarterly GDP and monthly economic activity data after the close at 6.00pm (AEDT), while domestic employment data are due at 11.30am (AEDT) with a 15,000 rise in jobs and 5.4pc jobless rate expected
10.08am: Whitehaven bears worst fall in a year
Whitehaven Coal (WHC) shares bear their worst fall since November 2016, down over 6.8 per cent at their lowest point this morning on $4.37 after its quarterly update ahead of the open.
10.03am: BHP up 1.5pc at the open
BHP shares (BHP) recover 1.5 per cent to $31.20 after providing a mixed quarterly update ahead of the open and following on from its worst session in over 6 months yesterday.
9.45am: ASX to latch on Dow’s 26,000 fever
The Australian sharemarket looks set to open comfortably higher after a strong positive lead from Wall Street as the Dow books its first close above 26,000 points.
The share price futures index last closed up 0.2 per cent.
In the US, The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 322.79 points, or 1.25 per cent, to 26,115.65, the S&P 500 gained 26.14 points, or 0.94 per cent, to 2,802.56 and the Nasdaq Composite added 74.59 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 7,298.28.
“[The rally] is ... likely to provide some support to the ASX 200 index in early trading,” says CMC chief market analyst Ric Spooner, “however, despite its strong close, the S&P 500 index did not achieve new highs last night. It traded inside Tuesday’s range in what could be characterised as a volatile but overall neutral trading session.”
BHP Billiton has delivered mixed fourth-quarter results ahead of the open, Whitehaven cut saleable coal production, Woodside Petroleum’s booked a subdued fourth-quarter and Santos is still slated to provide quarterly production reports.
In banks, Westpac has receives an early morning upgrade to ‘overweight’ by investment bank Macquarie.
Locally, in economic news on Thursday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases labour force data at 11.30am (AEDT).
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar is up half a US cent, clinging to the upside of US80 cents — with AAP
Read: Bitcoin rout rolls on
9.37am: Woodside output, revenue ebbs in 4Q
Woodside Petroleum’s fourth-quarter sales revenue fell 1 per cent to $939 million, while production fell 8 per cent for the period by the same year-on-year basis to 21.9 MMboe.
“We anticipate that the stronger oil prices experienced in the fourth quarter will flow through to higher realised LNG prices in the first quarter of 2018,” said Woodside CEO Peter Coleman, “looking ahead to 2018, we can expect a significant increase in annual LNG production and we anticipate we will be cash flow neutral at $35 a barrel” — more to come.
WPL last $33.66
9.23am: Analyst rating changes
Westpac raised to Outperform — Macquarie
Sirtex raised to Outperform vs. Underperform — CLSA
South 32 cut to Neutral — Citi
South32 cut to Underperform — Credit Suisse
Afterpay Touch — initiated at Buy; $9.50 target price — Ord Minnett
APN Outdoor cut to Neutral — UBS
Orocobre raised to Neutral — Macquarie
Orocobre target price raised 8.8pc to $7.40, Hold rating kept — Deutsche
ResMed target price raised 10pc to $88.20; Overweight rating kept — Morgan Stanley
Treasury Wine target price raised 18pc to $13.00; Overweight rating kep — Morgan Stanley
9.21am: Apple in $US38bn repatriation
Tripp Mickle writes:
Apple said it would make a one-time tax payment of $US38 billion to repatriate overseas cash holdings and also ramp up its spending in the US, as it seeks to emphasise its contributions to the US economy after years of taking criticism for outsourcing manufacturing to China.
The tech giant said Wednesday it plans $US30bn in capital spending in the US over five years that will create more than 20,000 new jobs. It didn’t specify how much of that spending was already planned, but said the total will include building a new facility that initially will house customer-service operations, and $US10bn toward data centres across the country. Apple also is expanding from $US1bn to $US5bn a fund it established last year for investing in advanced manufacturing in the US
Ben Butler 9.04am: Ex-Rio execs reject fraud charges
Former Rio Tinto top brass Tom Albanese and Guy Elliott have pointed the finger at junior executives as part of a bid to convince a court to dismiss a fraud case against them and the company for allegedly overstating the value of a disastrous coal venture in Mozambique.
In letters filed with the US District Court in Manhattan, Mr Albanese, the mining company’s former chief executive, and Mr Elliott, its former chief financial officer, strongly defended their conduct at Rio and said the case brought against them by the US Securities and Exchange Commission should be dismissed.
9.05am: ASIC targets junk insurance
Ben Butler and Michael Roddan write:
The banking royal commission will be urged to look into worthless “add-on” insurance sold by car dealers — usually in return for hefty commissions — after action by the corporate regulator that has so far clawed back more than $120 million in refunds for ripped-off consumers.
Both Allianz, which yesterday agreed to pay $46.5m in compensation to more than 68,000 customers who bought the dud product, and the Consumer Action Law Centre, which has been campaigning on the issue, said they would include add-on insurance in their submissions to the royal commission.
8.59am: BHP mixed over fourth quarter
BHP Billiton’s production of copper and energy coal for the first half of the fiscal year is up, but volumes are flat in its iron ore business and petroleum and metallurgical coal volumes are down.
The resources giant produced 117 million tonnes of iron ore in the six months to December 31, flat compared to a year ago, but copper output rose 17 per cent on the back of a jump in volumes at its Escondida mine, and energy coal rose four per cent thanks to a strong performance at NSW Energy Coal.
The company has maintained its full-year production guidance for petroleum, copper, iron ore and energy coal but has revised down its metallurgical coal production forecast as a result of engineering issues at its Broadmeadow and Blackwater mines — AAP
BHP last $30.74 off its worst session in 6 months yesterday.
8.56am: Bitcoin rout rolls on
Bitcoin prices fell below $US10,000 on Wednesday, marking a drop of about 50 per cent from their December record and illustrating the degree to which the cryptocurrency remains a highly illiquid and volatile investment.
Bitcoin fell as low as $US9,966, down around 6 per cent on the day and nearly half from its December 17 record of $US19,783.21, according to data from CoinDesk. A day earlier, the cryptocurrency plunged as much as 25 per cent.
8.48am: Whitehaven coal output steady
Whitehaven Coal produced 5.4m tonnes of managed run-of-mine (ROM) coal in the December quarter representing, flat growth on the same period a year prior and contributing to 2 per cent year-to-date growth at the end of the period to 10.9m tonnes.
Managed saleable coal production of 5m tonnes in the quarter fell by 1 per cent on the same period a year prior, however on the same year-to-date basis Whitehaven lifted the grade production by 7 per cent to 10.2m tonnes.
Managed total coal sales rose 10 per cent on the same quarterly basis to 5.8m tonnes, or 16 per cent on the same year-to-date basis to 10.3m tonnes.
Whitehaven says the outlook for thermal coal in the short to medium term is favourable and that thermal coal prices over the most recent period defied more pessimistic forecasts by commentators.
“A number of factors are helping to maintain these higher prices, China’s draw on the seaborne thermal coal market is steady; demand for higher quality coals from South East Asia and the traditional Asian markets of Japan, Korea and Taiwan remains strong reflecting buoyant economic conditions across Asia,” said the company in a release to the ASX this morning.
“A number of factors including Australian industrial relations issues and poor weather in Indonesia have limited the supply response.”
WHC last $4.69
8.38am: BHP lifts iron ore output in 4Q
BHP’s December quarter iron ore output rose 3 per cent to 62m tonnes, beating Bloomberg’s analyst estimate collation predicting 61m tonnes.
BHP last $30.74 off its worst session in 6 months yesterday.
8.32am: Economy gets shot of confidence
Australian consumers may finally be back in action after lying dormant since the end of the mining boom, with growing confidence among households poised to deliver a kick to the economy in the coming year.
Although wage and price growth may be too weak and household savings too low for the Reserve Bank to start lifting interest rates within the next few months, the revival in consumer confidence is the latest sign that the domestic economy is recovering from a slowdown caused by the biggest ever fall in mining investment.
A synchronised global economic recovery and record low interest rates that have helped boost asset prices such as shares and housing are finally lifting the spirit of the consumer. At the same time, a strong run of business confidence and jobs growth are boosting confidence.
8.02am: Dow smashes through 26,000 barrier
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 26000 for the first time on Wednesday, sprinting to a fresh 1000-point milestone just eight trading days after toppling the previous one, its fastest run ever.
The most recent gains have been powered in part by a sudden hunger for stocks among certain money managers and individual investors who have long been wary of the nearly nine-year bull market.
Some market observers have dubbed this phenomenon Fear of Missing Out, as stock market records fall on an almost weekly basis. Others refer to a “melt-up” market, where the prevailing mood is shifting to greed from fear and investors stampede in without worrying much about valuation or fundamentals.
Dow Jones — read more
7.34am: Dow shoots past 26,000
Wall Street’s main indexes have all risen more than one per cent — with the Dow again above the 26,000 mark — as investors’ expectations for higher earnings lift stocks across sectors.
The S&P 500 has rallied strongly in the new year, gaining 4.8 per cent so far and posting only two sessions of losses. The Dow, after briefly hitting the 26,000 milestone on Tuesday, its fastest 1,000-point rise, looks set to close above that mark for the first time.
More than three-quarters of the 36 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far have topped earnings estimates, according to Thomson Reuters. In late afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.17 per cent to 26,095.48, the S&P 500 had gained 1.03 per cent to 2,805.12 and the Nasdaq Composite had added 1.14 per cent to 7,305.76.
AAP
6.53am: Gold prices shine as US dollar fades
Gold prices turned higher Wednesday, following a decline in the dollar.
Gold for February delivery was recently up 0.1 per cent at $US1,338.20 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices hit $1,331 a troy ounce earlier in the session.
The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index was down 0.1 per cent at 84.33, reversing earlier gains. A falling dollar tends to boost gold, which is priced in the US currency and becomes more affordable to foreign investors when the dollar declines.
A steep drop in the dollar has been one of the key factors behind gold’s recent rally, which has seen prices for the metal rise around 8 per cent from December lows.
Dow Jones
6.42am: Bitcoin slides below $US10,000
Virtual currency bitcoin dived overnight, falling below $US10,000 for the first time in six weeks in what one analyst called a “cryptocalypse” that saw several digital units take a hammering.
Bitcoin fell below $US10,000 for the first time since early December, as the leading cryptocurrency extended Tuesday’s 15 per cent slump.
The fierce selling also spread to other alternative digital units, with ethereum, ripple and litecoin all losing about a quarter of their value Tuesday.
Bitcoin is down from record highs approaching $US20,000 in the week before Christmas, having rocketed 25-fold over the year before being hit by concerns about a bubble and worries about crackdowns on trading it.
AFP
6.35am: European markets ebb
Europe’s major stock markets churned lower Wednesday as investors took their cue from downbeat sentiment in Asia, while Wall Street resumed its upward trend.
London stocks fell “as traders opt to lock in profits following the latest rally,” noted Russ Mould, investment director at online stockbroker AJ Bell.
The FTSE 100 closed down 0.4 per cent, Germany’s DAX 30 slid 0.5 per cent and the CAC 40 in Paris dropped 0.4 per cent.
AFP
6.24am: Goldman Sachs books quarterly loss
Goldman Sachs booked a quarterly loss of $US1.93 billion — its first since 2011 — after a $US4.4 billion tax hit wiped out all profit for the fourth quarter. It’s not alone on the tax, of course. Other big Wall Street banks have taken a hit too. But trading at Goldman is not what it once was, the fixed income desk struggled and slow-burn businesses such as asset management will take a while to fill the revenue gap. Goldman shares fell more than 3 per cent. Bank of America didn’t suffer a loss, but its Q4 profit did fall compared with last year, hampered, too by a tax charge that amounted to $US2.9bn. Without that hit, BoA would have posted a profit of $US21.1bn for the full year, matching the bank’s all-time profit record from 2006.
Dow Jones
6.16am: Fed’s Kaplan eyes three hikes in 2018
Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said he expects the US central bank will need to raise interest rates three times this year and perhaps even more to prevent a robust economy from overheating.
Dow Jones
6.12am: Bank of Canada lifts rates
The Bank of Canada raised its main interest rate to 1.25 per cent on the strength of stellar employment data and a pick-up in inflation, but it signalled a cautious approach to further rate increases while warning that uncertainty tied to the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement is likely to exert a drag on growth.
Dow Jones
Add your comment to this story
ASX down; Insignia lifts; CBA dives; no deal yet: Star
Star 'unable to reach' Queen's Wharf deal with HK partners. Bain, CC Capital neck and neck in Insignia race. PolyNovo confirms internal turmoil. Orica's mixed update. King Island Dairy saved by unnamed businessmen. 'Erratic' Cyclone Alfred's growing risk.
ASX 200 slumps; Star close to Queen’s Wharf deal
Casino operator's deal with Hong Kong partners to help avoid administration. Ex-dividend trading, oil price slide weigh on bourse. Insurers face $2bn-plus hit from Cyclone Alfred. APRA moves to tighten financial board rules.
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout