It’s been a remarkable year for the Australian share market, approaching all-time highs

The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.4 per cent, stepping back from its 10-month high recorded the day before! Most sectors, including technology and real estate, showed declines on Thursday. Within the materials sector, gold and lithium explorers, such as Newmont and Allkem, dragged the market down with falls of 1.6 per cent and 5 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, BHP Group saw a slide of 0.3 per cent. In contrast, Rio Tinto hit an intraday record of $135.4, partly due to stronger iron prices, anticipated to surge due to increased winter restocking. Iron ore prices on the Singapore Exchange edged up by 0.4 per cent to $134.45 per tonne, marking a 24 per cent increase this year due to heightened demand from China post a stringent COVID lockdown. In other mining news, Pilbara Minerals fell 2.7 per cent as it revealed cost-cutting plans, while Bubs Australia remained flat at 13.5¢ after raising $17 million for a US expansion.

Transurban, ANZ Group, Pacific Smiles, Liontown

Transurban rose 0.4 per cent after securing $800 million in 10-year debt in the US private placement market. ANZ Group remained unchanged as its CEO expressed optimism at the AGM about expanding its mortgage market share. Pacific Smiles, a dental chain, surged 1.4 per cent following the board’s dismissal of Genesis Capital’s takeover offer, citing that it significantly underestimated the company’s value. Meanwhile, Liontown experienced the most significant decline among ASX 200 stocks, dropping 8 per cent due to reports of its involvement in a legal dispute concerning royalty rights related to a Western Australian mine.

Too early to celebrate rate cute next year, despite the current Santa Rally

Equity markets in the US showed broad-based gains across all indices, with the Dow Jones climbing 0.9 per cent, the S&P 500 surging 1.0 per cent and the Nasdaq advancing 1.3 per cent. However, despite the gains, and the general moderation in longer term bond yields over the last 2 months, it may be a little too premature to start celebrating rate cuts next year. With growth in the neighbourhood of 5 per cent, and low jobless claims in the US, the economy still appears resilient. Tonight, key inflation data will be released helping paint the picture regarding Personal Consumption Expenditure Inflation, New US Home Sales, and Durable Goods Orders. In company news, Nio Inc. saw a 4 per cent increase despite reports in The Wall Street Journal suggesting potential tariff hikes by the Biden administration on Chinese-made electric vehicles. Meanwhile, Micron Technology Inc. experienced a 9.1 per cent surge following better-than-expected results, contributing to a broader rise in U.S. chip stocks. Intel rose by 2.9 per cent, and Nvidia climbed 1.6 per cent. Carnival Corp. shares rose by 5.7 per cent after the cruise operator surpassed expectations in its fiscal fourth-quarter results and provided an optimistic full-year profitability forecast.

James Dunn

James is an experienced senior journalist and editor of The Inside Network's publications.