Provides a market roundup, a selection of useful data points we use for our investment analysis, and some interesting articles/charts we have noticed recently.
Stocks in the US recorded strong gains, as investors appeared to react to some prominent earnings reports and hints that the Federal Reserve might moderate its pace of interest rate hikes. The S&P 500 Index enjoyed its best weekly gain in nearly four months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average marked its third consecutive week of gains. Energy shares outperformed within the S&P 500, as oil prices proved resilient despite the announcement of a release from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The small real estate sector lagged. Trading remained active and volatile, which traders attributed in part to the expiration of USD 2 trillion in options contracts on Friday.
Investors appeared to be climbing the proverbial “wall of worry” after the previous Friday’s steep decline and a perceived surplus of short positions taken by hedge funds. Better-than-expected quarterly results, guidance, and buybacks from Goldman Sachs and Lockheed Martin also seemed to provide a broad boost to sentiment.
The Albanese government’s first budget and third quarter inflation figures will dominate the economic agenda this week with futures markets pointing to a rise for the ASX on Monday following a strong close on Wall Street. The budget will be handed down on Tuesday and despite rising cost of living pressures, is not expected to contain immediate spending stimuli that might fuel inflation. On Friday, the ABS will release its producer price index for the September quarter, which measures the price change of products as they leave the place of production.
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