Thursday 1st June 2023
ASX (ASX:XJO) gains 0.3 per cent on debt ceiling vote, lithium, energy hit as healthcare rallies
It was a reasonably slow down for market-moving news on the sharemarket, with both the All Ordinaries (ASX:XAO) and S&P/ASX200 finishing 0.2 per cent higher on the back of 7 of the eleven sectors improving. The key driver was the passing of the negotiated debt ceiling deal through the House of Representatives in the US, leaving just the Senate to pass the legislation which allow the country to avoid a ‘perceived’ default as expected. The healthcare sector was a key driver amid a flight to quality, gaining 1.2 per cent on the back of strength in vaccine producer CSL (ASX:CSL), which added 1.3 per cent. The technology and staples sectors both gained 1.1 and 0.9 per cent respectively while the Australian dollar continued to tank despite the higher than expected inflation data.
Lithium miners, oil producers hit, De Grey jumps on dollar weakness
The lithium sector was among the hardest hit on Thursday as pressure on demand continues to reign, following weaker than expected economic date out of China. Allkem (ASX:AKE) fell 3.6 per cent along with Independence (ASX:IGO), as the multi-year strength in prices continues to reverse course. Gold miners once again benefitted from the weaker currency, with De Grey (ASX:DEG) adding 4.9 per cent, while the oil price continues to reverse as stockpiles in the US increase, taking the weekly loss to 7 per cent. In a positive sign for the economy, capital expenditure improved by 1.3 per cent, much more than expected, suggesting businesses are ramping up capacity once again.
US markets jump on debt ceiling, mixed economic data, Salesforce.com sinks on weaker growth
US sharemarkets delivered another strong day, with the S&P500 gaining 1 per cent, the Dow Jones 0.5 per cent and the Nasdaq 1.3 per cent amid a flurry of mixed economic data. The result comes after an historic month that saw the Nasdaq outperform the Dow Jones by the largest margin since 2001. In economic news, manufacturing data showed a significant slowdown in the US, moving back into contractionary conditions, falling to 48.4 points, while construction data showed better than expected monthly growth of 1.2 per cent. In similar news, employment data showed another 278,000 found work in May, while 232,000 more people applied for unemployment benefits. Shares in Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) fell close to 5 per cent after the company continued it’s mission to improve margins at the expense of sales growth. The CEO flagged record annual earnings for the year ahead despite reporting a profit of just US$199 million.
Drew is editor of The Inside Network's publications and a principal adviser at Wattle Partners.
