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.
Market peeved by rate hike
The Australian sharemarket fell after the Reserve Bank surprised markets with another interest rate hike, lifting the cash rate to 4.1 per cent. The S&P/ASX200 Index fell 86.7 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 7,129.6, while the broader All Ordinaries dropped 81.3 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 7,319.9.
Ten of the ASX’s 11 official sectors finished lower on Tuesday, with utilities the only gainer. All the Big Four banks lost ground, with ANZ dropping 38 cents, or 1.6 per cent, to $22.74; NAB easing 29 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $25.76; Westpac sliding 43 cents, or 2.1 per cent, to $20.34; and Commonwealth Bank losing 94 cents, or 1 per cent, to $96.56. Global investment bank and wealth manager Macquarie Group slid $2.51, or 1.4 per cent, to $171.27.
In the retail space, baby products specialist Baby Bunting had a particularly bad day, reporting that its “Storktake” promotional event did not work, with sales “unprecedentedly low.” The shares fell 30 cents, or 16.9 per cent, to a five-year low of $1.48.
A pharmacy supply battle for a billion-dollar contract from Chemist Warehouse, Australia’s largest pharmacy retailer, between EBOS Group and Sigma Group, ended with a spectacular win for Sigma, which grabbed the supplier gig from EBOS. Sigma shares celebrated with a 14-cent, or 22 per cent, rise to 77.5 cents, while EBOS tanked $4.66, or 12.3 per cent, to $33.21.
Lithium, coal lead resources
In the heavyweight mining sector, BHP fell 40 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $43.60; Rio Tinto fell 26 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $111.33; and Fortescue Metals walked back 4 cents to $20.36.
In lithium, producer Allkem appreciated 9 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $15.18, and fellow producer Pilbara Minerals also gained 9 cents, or 2 per cent, to $4.65. IGO, which mines nickel and lithium, gave back 6 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $14.36; and Mineral Resources, which mines iron ore as well as lithium, slid 87 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $69.43.
In coal, Whitehaven Coal surged 26 cents, or 4.4 per cent, to $6.20; New Hope Corporation jumped 17 cents, or 3.5 per cent, to $4.97; Stanmore Resources gained 7 cents, or 2.8 per cent, to $2.56; and Yancoal Australia rose 19 cents, or 4.3 per cent, to $4.62.
In energy, Woodside Energy slipped 27 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $34.54; Santos lost 6 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $7.46; and Brazilian-based producer Karoon Energy eased 4 cents, or 1.9 per cent, to $2.02.
US indices touch recent highs
In the US, the broad S&P 500 index advanced 10.06 points, or 0.2 per cent, trading near a nine-month high, to finish at 4,283.85, the index’s highest close since August 2022. The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average added 10.42 points to 33,573.28, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index gained 46.99 points, or 0.4 per cent, to end at its highest close so far this year, at 13,276.42
On the bond market, the US 10-year Treasury yield retreated 1.3 basis points, to 3.675 per cent, while the 2-year yield gained 4.2 basis points, to 4.458 per cent.
In commodities, gold gained US$2.34, or 0.1 per cent, to US$1,963.98 an ounce, the global benchmark Brent crude oil grade retreated 42 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to US$76.29 a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 17 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to US$71.57a barrel.
The Australian dollar was buying 66.74 US cents, up from 66.65 cents at Tuesday’s ASX close.
