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.
Sharemarket (ASX:XJO) bounces to start financial year, Costa under offer, Redox floats
The local market started the week and financial year on a positive note, with both the S&P/ASX200 and All Ordinaries (ASX:XAO) gaining 0.6 per cent on Monday. The technology sector was the only detractor with the likes of Wisetech (ASX:WST) and Technology One (ASX:TNE) dropped 2.9 and 2.2 per cent on the back of a weak night for the Nasdaq on interest rate concerns. The highlight by far was the consumer sector, with Costa Group (ASX:CGC) gaining 9.6 per cent after confirmed interest to take the company private, which boosted the discretionary sector by 1.4 per cent. Family-owned success story, Redox (ASX:RDX), fell on its first day of trading with Australia’s biggest chemicals and ingredients distributor falling posting a $100 millio profit for the financial year. Signs of weakness in the Chinese economy also continue to grow with the manufacturing PMI falling to 50.5 in May, only just in contractionary phase.
Australian Vintage jumps, United Malt up on takeover confirmation, Super Retail surge and Telstra joins Musk
Shares in Telstra (ASX:TLS) were slightly higher after the company confirmed it had entered into a partnership with Elon Musk’s remote wireless communications group, Starlink, to assist in connecting regional customers. Winemaker Australian Vintage (ASX:AVG) finished 10 per cent higher after the company confirmed it had engaged consultants for a strategic review and potential sale of parts of its business. United Malt (ASX:UMG) climbed 8.6 per cent after the company confirmed the takeover offer from French group Malteries Soufflet had become binding at $5 per share. It was a similar story for Super Retail (ASX:SUL) with the company managing a 3.4 per cent increase as broader confidence spreads through the retailing sector in Australia. Infrastructure services provider Downer EDI (ASX:DOW) added 2.7 per cent after the company confirmed it had been successful in obtaining a $540 million contract to assist in maintaining roads for the Hamilton City Council.
US benchmarks add small gains, 4th of July ahead, technology the laggard
All three US benchmarks finished in the green, despite the markets being open for a limited session ahead of the 4th of July, Independence Day holiday. The Dow Jones was flat, the S&P500 added 0.1 and the Nasdaq 0.2 per cent with the likes of Microsoft (NYSE:MSFT) and Apple (NYSE:AAPL) dragged slightly lower on weaker manufacturing activity. The latest ISM measures showed the US economy had entered contractionary territory falling to 46 per cent. On the positive side was Tesla (NYSE:TSLA) which added close to 7 per cent after the company announced higher than expected sales results for the quarter, delivering 466,000 vehicles. It was a similar story for Rivian (NYSE:RIVN) after the stock more than tripled production compared to the prior quarter.
