Consumer trust isn’t something to be taken for granted, but reports from the UK, US and here at home are all pointing towards an uplift in trust levels around financial advice, which can only be a welcome development.
There are significant tailwinds behind the financial advice industry at the moment, but some major obstacles are still preventing advice practices from taking advantage of surging demand according to a new study from CFS.
Tech stocks to market’s taste, instead of pizza
The Australian share market struggled to a small gain on Tuesday, reflecting an upbeat session overnight on Wall Street. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed 16.4 points, or 0.2 per cent, higher to 7138.9, while the broader All Ordinaries index also edged up 16.8 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 7329.1.
Among the banking majors, Commonwealth Bank rose 72 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $96.52, but the other majors were more subdued, with Westpac advancing 5 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $20.30; ANZ gaining 8 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $22.93; and National Australia Bank putting on 2 cents to $25.22. Global investment bank and wealth manager Macquarie Group strengthened $3.56, or 2.1 per cent, to $175.66.
Tech stocks led gains, with the sub-index up 3.8 per cent, following the Nasdaq’s positive close. WiseTech lifted $3.93, or 5.2 per cent, to $79.82; Xero jumped $4.54, or 4.2 per cent, to $113.62; and Novonix leapt 16 cents, or 15.3 per cent, to $1.20.
Cybersecurity company, Tesserent more than doubled, up 7.1 cents, or 144.9 per cent, to 12 cents, after French defence giant Thales made a takeover bid at 13 cents a share. The bid represents a 165 per cent premium to Tesserent’s last closing price, of 4.6 cents.
On the losing side, Domino’s Pizza sank to its lowest price in four years after revealing a drastic plan to shut stores, slice costs and restructure operations, to counter falling earnings. The stock slid $2.71, or 5.9 per cent, to $43.55: DMP is down 34 per cent this year.
Tough day on the tools for miners and drillers
Energy stocks struggled on concerns of a slowing economy in the US and a weakening recovery in China, the world’s top crude importer; although a surprise rate cut in China could arguably have helped the sector. Woodside Energy was down 46 cents, or 1.3 per cent, to $34.27; Santos lost 14 cents, or 1.9 per cent, to $7.25; Beach Energy dropped 2.5 cents, or 1.9 per cent, to $1.315; and Brazilian-based producer Karoon Energy slid 10.5 cents, or 5.2 per cent, to $1.895.
In coal, Whitehaven Coal gave up 12 cents, or 1.9 per cent; to $6.28; New Hope slipped 8 cents, or 1.5 per cent, to $5.32; Stanmore Resources lost 6 cents, or 2.2 per cent, to $2.63; and Yancoal Australia lost 21 cents, or 4.5 per cent, to $4.48.
The big miners were also in struggletown. BHP dropped 43 cents, or 1 per cent; to $44.29. Rio Tinto surrendered $1.70, or 1.5 per cent, to $112.88; and Fortescue Metals was unchanged at the close, at $20.80.
Downward pressure was also the story among the gold stocks. Bellevue Gold slumped 9.5 cents, or 7 per cent, to $1.255; De Grey Mining sank 7 cents, or 5.2 per cent, to $1.29; Perseus Mining retreated 8.5 cents, or 4.6 per cent, to $1.775; St Barbara walked back 2.5 cents, or 4.4 per cent, to 54.5 cents; Regis Resources lost 5.5 cents, or 2.7 per cent, to $1.985; and heavyweight Newcrest Mining weakened 38 cents, or 1.4 per cent, to $26.03.
In lithium, producer Allkem shed 18 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $15.35, and fellow producer Pilbara Minerals softened 1 cent to $4.74. IGO, which mines nickel and lithium, gained 12 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $$14.70, and Mineral Resources, which produces iron ore as well as lithium, gave up $1.86, or 2.7 per cent, to $67.92.
US inflation print powers market
In the US, stock indices rose after fresh inflation data showed that price pressures slowed again in May, adding to investor optimism that the Federal Reserve could decide against a rate hike when it meets later this week. US inflation rose in May at a 4 per cent annual rate, the slowest pace in two years.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 145.79 points, or 0.4 per cent, to close at 34,212.12, while the broad S&P 500 index added 30.08 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 4,369.01, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 111.4 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 13,573.32. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq achieved fresh 13-month highs during the session.
On the bond market, the US 10-year yield advanced 8.8 basis points to 3.828 per cent, while the 2-year yield rose 10.2 basis points to 4.683 per cent.
Gold softened US$16.82, or 0.9 per cent, to US$1,943.22 an ounce, the global benchmark Brent crude oil grade jumped US$2.45, or 3.4 per cent, to US$74.29 a barrel, but US West Texas Intermediate crude retreated 24 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to US$69.18 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying 67.67 US cents this morning, down from 67.87 cents at the local ASX close on Tuesday.
