Stock Market in Australia Experiences Slight Drop
The Australian market is not trading lower on Thursday as some might have thought; instead, it is making gains and hitting fresh record highs. The S&P/ASX 200 Index is currently up 0.55% and reached a peak of 8,899.1 points during the day.
The rise in the ASX 200 is driven by strong gains overnight on Wall Street, where all major indices closed higher, and Australian economic data showing a fall in unemployment to 4.2% with record female labour participation in July. The lower unemployment rate and strong jobs growth add to expectations for further Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate cuts, boosting market sentiment.
Despite the positive Wall Street cues, some individual company stocks are edging down. Woodside Energy and Origin Energy are up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each, while Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each. Santos is losing almost 1 percent, and Fortescue is losing almost 1 percent. However, Beach Energy is gaining more than 1 percent.
Among gold miners, Northern Star Resources is advancing almost 2 percent. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 0.10 percent to 9,102.20.
The U.S. market saw further upside on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq jumping 1.2 percent, the S&P 500 climbing 0.7 percent, and the Dow rising 0.2 percent. Crude oil lost early gains on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery down 1.47 percent at $64.20 per barrel.
The Aussie dollar is trading at $0.650 on Thursday. Shares in ASX are tumbling almost 8 percent due to the Treasurer's plan to end its monopoly and ongoing ASIC compliance inquiry. The decline is also due to the threat of U.S. sanctions on Russia's oil exports after August 8 if it fails to end its attempt to annex Ukraine.
In Europe, the major markets moved to the upside, with the German DAX Index rising by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both closing up by 0.2 percent.
References:
[1] AAP, "ASX 200 hits record high as Wall Street cues boost sentiment," News.com.au, 19 August 2021, https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/companies/asx-200-hits-record-high-as-wall-street-cues-boost-sentiment/news-story/8f61001a989d276d9e713c2f1480173b
[2] AAP, "ASX 200 hits record high as Aussie jobs market improves," The West Australian, 19 August 2021, https://thewest.com.au/business/asx-200-hits-record-high-as-aussie-jobs-market-improves-c-4885764
[3] AAP, "ASX 200 hits record high as Aussie jobs market improves," The Advertiser, 19 August 2021, https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/asx-200-hits-record-high-as-aussie-jobs-market-improves-c-8491073
On the Australian market, strong economic data and gains on Wall Street have contributed to a rise in the S&P/ASX 200 Index, with finance and industry sectors likely experiencing positive growth. However, individual company stocks in the business sector exhibit mixed results, with some gains and others showing losses.
