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.
Local market lower on US debt ceiling worries
Global share markets are transfixed by the latest US debt ceiling crisis, and the Australian bourse is just like all of them – very much in wait-and-see mode.
The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 35.5 points, or 0.5 per cent lower, at 7,199.2, after falling as much as 1.1 per cent, while the broader All Ordinaries index lost 34.8 points, also 0.5 per cent, to 7,389.3. Seven of the 11 sectors lost ground on the day.
In big mining, BHP surrendered 36 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $43.72; Rio Tinto lost 34 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $108.43; and Fortescue Mining eased 5 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $20.25.
Coal stocks were under pressure as coal prices weakened further; thermal (electricity) coal has halved in price since September 2022, while coking (steelmaking) coal is down almost 19 per cent. Whitehaven Coal shares eased 4 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $6.80; Yancoal Australia lost 6 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $5.34; Coronado Global Resources gave up 5.5 cents, or 3.6 per cent, to $1.46; and Stanmore Resources shed 8 cents, or 2.7 per cent, to $2.90.
Lithium miners also found the going tough, despite a 3.4 per cent rise in the lithium carbonate price in China, although producer Allkem managed a gain of 4 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $14.83; fellow producer Pilbara Minerals slid 5 cents, or 1 per cent, to $4.74; IGO, which mines nickel and lithium, fell 17 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $14.68; and Mineral Resources, which produces iron ore and lithium, lost 17 cents, or 1.7 per cent, to $72.17.
Among the project developers, Core Lithium sank 6.5 cents, or 5.6 per cent, to $1.10; Sayona Mining’s one-cent loss equated to a 4.4 per cent fall, to 22 cents; and Liontown Resources toppled 5 cents, or 1.8 per cent, to $2.78.
Gold stocks also followed the metal price lower, with Newcrest Mining losing 60 cents, or 2.1 per cent, to $27.80; Evolution Mining erased 9 cents, or 2.3 per cent, to $3.80; Silver Lake Resources was down 2.5 cents, or 2.3 per cent, to $1.08; St Barbara fell 3 cents, or 4.8 per cent, to 60 cents; Bellevue Gold walked back 4.5 cents, or 3.4 per cent, to $1.28; Regis Resources slid 4 cents, or 1.9 per cent, to $2.09; and Perseus Mining retreated 6 cents, or 2.8 per cent, to $2.06.
Bankworld mostly lower
Among the big banks, Westpac was down 21 cents, or 1 per cent, to $20.92; ANZ gained 4 cents, to $23.58; Commonwealth Bank eased 45 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $97.14; and National Australia Bank closed 27 cents, or 1 per cent, lower at $26.19. Global investment bank and wealth manager lost $2.21, or 1.3 per cent, to $172.14.
Fertiliser and explosive company Incitec Pivot sank 25 cents, or 7.8 per cent, to $2.94 after the company reported a 6 per cent decline in first-half underlying earnings to $361.9 million. The result was well below analyst consensus.
United Malt gained 10 cents, or 2.3 per cent, to $4.45, but that’s still well below the $5-a-share cash offer it received from French maltster Malteries Soufflet in March.
Investors in one of Australia’s largest short-term rental accommodation providers, Alloggio Group, had a shocker, with the shares slumping 10 cents, or 37 per cent, to 17 cents, after private equity group Next Capital said it was unable to maintain” its March takeover offer price of 30c per share, after Alloggio downgraded its earnings.
Drug developer Immutep surged 3.5 cents, or 14.9 per cent, to 27 cents, after its Efti drug notched good results as a combination therapy against a form of lung cancer, in a Phase II clinical trial.
Debt ceiling mood improves
US equities rose on Wednesday on the back of growing optimism over the US debt ceiling, as both President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy expressed confidence that there would be no default, and that reaching an agreement this week is “doable”.
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average added 408.63 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 33,420.77, while the broader S&P 500 index gained 48.87 points, also 1.2 per cent, to 4,158.77, and the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite index advanced 57.51 points, or 1.3 per cent, to 12,500.57.
In the bond market, the US 10-year Treasury yield eked out a rise of 2.6 basis points, to 3.569 per cent, while the more rate-sensitive 2-year yield moved 8.9 basis points higher, to 4.169 per cent.
Gold slipped US$6.84, or 0.3 per cent, to US$1,982.88 an ounce, while the global benchmark Brent crude oil grade lifted US$2.05, or 2.7 per cent, to US$76.96 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate slid 7 cents to US$72.76 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying 66.57 US cents this morning, up from 66.49 US cents at the local close on Wednesday.
