The Dow Jones surged above the 40,000 level for the first time ever in intraday trading before settling below the record level by the close. Optimism about the inflation and rates outlook continued to filter through the broader market.
The 30-stock Dow ended the day down by 38 points or 0.1 per cent, closing at 39,869.38 after briefly reaching a new high of 40,051. The S&P 500 fell 0.21 per cent and the Nasdaq finished 0.26 per cent lower. The Dow is now up 6 per cent in 2024, while the S&P 500 & Nasdaq are up 11 per cent each for the year.
In company news, Walmart led the Dow to a new record as the world’s biggest retailer surged nearly 7 per cent on strong fiscal first-quarter results and strong guidance going forward. Walmart is now up 21 per cent in 2024.
Big Tech such as Amazon, Meta Platforms and Nvidia are all up sharply year to date. Amazon, which recently joined the Dow Jones Index is now over 20 per cent higher for the year. Other top Dow performers this year include American Express, up about 29 per cent in the period, and Goldman Sachs, up 20 per cent.
In commodity-related news, US copper prices have reached a historic high premium over the global benchmark in London due to increased speculative activity and short covering by traders, with the most active three-month contract surging 11 per cent to over $5 per pound, pushing the gap between US and London prices to over $1,000 per tonne.
The prices of aluminium are expected to decline by at least 6 per cent over the next six months largely driven by rising supply coupled with poor manufacturing demand, according to an analyst from Trafigura Group.
Turning to US sectors, all sectors except from Consumer Staples closed lower. Consumer Staples closed up 1.48 per cent, whilst the worst performer was Consumer Discretionary, closing lower by 0.75 per cent.
In local news, New Zealand PPI data for the first quarter will be released at 8:45am AEST.
Futures
The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.6 per cent fall.
Currency
One Australian dollar at 7.25am was buying 66.77 US cents.
Commodities
Gold has lost 0.39 per cent. Silver has added 0.49 per cent. Copper has fallen 0.96 per cent. Oil was up 0.76 per cent.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed lower. London’s FTSE fell 0.08 per cent, Frankfurt lost 0.69 per cent, and Paris closed 0.62 per cent lower.
Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 1.39 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.59 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.08 per cent higher.
The Australian share market closed 1.65 per cent higher at 7,881.29
Ex-dividends
WAM Microcap (ASX:WMI) is paying 5.25 cents fully franked
Dividends payable
Cromwell Property Group (ASX:CMW)
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.
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