Nvidia soared 9.8 per cent, the biggest gainer in the S&P500 Index, after telling investors its priority is to use cash to expand its business instead of buying back its own stock — helping buoy sentiment on the outlook for chipmakers.
Apple shares rose for an eighth consecutive day of gains after getting hammered earlier this month.
Bloomberg reported that Apple is working on a subscription service for the iPhone and other hardware products, a move that could make device ownership similar to paying a monthly app fee.
The iPhone is Apple’s biggest source of sales, generating nearly $US192 billion last year — more than half the company’s revenue.
All 11 S&P 500’s industry sectors were higher; information tech paced the gains with a 2.7 per cent rise.
Today’s agenda
No local data
Overseas data: China fourth quarter current account final; Euro zone March business climate survey; UK March consumer sentiment, February retail sales; US February pending home sales, March consumer sentiment
Market highlights
ASX futures up 38 points or 0.5 per cent to 7386 near 7am AEDT
AUD +0.2% to 75.13 US cents
Bitcoin on bitstamp.net +3.7% to $US43,927.55 at 7.15am AEDT
On Wall St: Dow +1% S&P 500 +1.4% Nasdaq +1.9%
In New York: BHP +1.8% Rio +0.5% Altassian +1.6%
Tesla +1.5% Apple +2.3% Meta +2.9% Microsoft +1.5%
In Europe: Stoxx 50 -0.2% FTSE +0.1% CAC -0.4% DAX -0.1%
Spot gold +1.1% to $US1964.60/oz at 1.12pm in New York
Brent crude -1.4% to $US119.89 a barrel
US oil -1.7% to $US112.94 a barrel
Iron ore down US10¢ to $US146.35 a tonne
2-year yield: US 2.13% Australia 1.47%
5-year yield: US 2.40% Australia 2.47%
10-year yield: US 2.36% Australia 2.76% Germany 0.53%
US prices as of 4.12pm in New York
From today’s Financial Review
Contractors at ‘breaking point’, seek relief as costs spiral: Civil contractors say they are hugely stretched due to soaring prices and have called on governments to follow Queensland’s lead and bear more of the costs of core building materials.
Chanticleer: Casinos are in the doghouse. But regulators need a shake-up: Australia’s two casino companies are under fire thanks to damning revelations about their lax approach, but the evidence also shows regulators have been asleep at the wheel.
Alarm bells over mooted Chinese base in Solomon Islands: The Morrison government was scrambling on Thursday after revelations of a draft security agreement between Beijing and the Solomon Islands which paved the way for a Chinese military presence on the Pacific Island nation.
United States
Uber said it will list New York City’s iconic yellow cabs on its app, a move that marks the company’s latest expansion into the taxi market and could help the ride-hailing giant overcome a driver shortage in its biggest US market.
Moderna raised its full-year forecast for sales of its COVID-19 vaccine to roughly $US21 billion from $US19 billion. The company in February forecast sales of $US19 billion from its signed contracts, and option for $US3 billion in additional purchases.
Apple said it will buy its first industrial-size batch of carbon-free aluminum to use in its low-cost iPhone SE, as it steps up efforts to reduce carbon footprint from the metal it uses heavily in product casings. Details about the size or cost of the purchase were not disclosed.
Nikola rose on news the company started production of its electric truck on schedule. The electric-vehicle maker expects to deliver 300 to 500 semi-trucks this year.
Europe
The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.2 per cent by close after struggling for direction throughout the day.
Banks fell 0.7 per cent, while retail stocks were led lower by a 3.3 per cent drop in British clothing retailer Next after it trimmed its sales and profit forecast for 2022-23.
Nervousness was evident as investors scurried to sectors such as consumer staple stocks that are less impacted by economic crises.
After declining for two months on concerns about inflation, monetary policy and the Ukraine war, the STOXX 600’s meagre gains so far in March are at risk going into the last week of the month.
Among individual stocks, defence companies BAE Systems and Thales SA gained 1.9 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively, while Rheinmetall jumped 8.9 per cent.
Daimler Truck rose 7.1 per cent after it said it expected little impact on its business in 2022 from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and forecast revenue growth of at least 14 per cent.
Telecom Italia gained 8.4 per cent after Reuters reported that KKR remains interested in taking over the Italian telecoms group.
Luxury goods group Richemont fell 2.1 per cent after selling its entire 20 per cent stake in Swiss watchmaker Greubel Forsey.
Asia
The US audit watchdog said speculation about a deal that would keep hundreds of Chinese companies from being being kicked off American stock exchanges is “premature.”
In a statement on Thursday, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board said that while it continues to meet with Chinese regulators, it’s unclear if Beijing authorities will ultimately permit US inspectors to fully review the audit papers of companies. The regulator added that any agreement would only be a “first step” and that the PCAOB would then investigate to ensure that the deal is being followed.
China stocks closed lower on Thursday on worries about aggressive rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve and as Washington sought to deter Beijing from aiding sanctions-hit Russia.
The blue-chip CSI300 index ended 0.6 per cent lower at 4251.31, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.6 per cent to 3250.26 points.
The Hang Seng Index fell 0.9 per cent to 21,945.95, while the China Enterprises Index lost 1.4 per cent to 7528.14 points.
Currencies
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago president Charles Evans said he’s “comfortable” with raising interest rates by quarter percentage-point increments, while being “open” to a bigger 50 basis-point move if needed.
“We want to be careful, we want to be humble and nimble, and get to neutral before too long — maybe 50 helps, I’m open to that,” Evans said in answering a question after a speech to the Detroit Regional Chamber. “I would be comfortable with each meeting increasing by a quarter point.”
Evans is not a voting member of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee this year.
Norges Bank’s interim governor, Ida Wolden Bache, is set to become Norway’s first permanent female central bank chief after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg withdrew from the role to extend his term over the war in Ukraine.
Wolden Bache, who had been pipped narrowly by ex-premier Stoltenberg last month to replace former Governor Oystein Olsen, will accept the appointment for a six-year-term, the central bank says in a statement on Thursday. She is due to be formally nominated by the state council on Friday.
Commodities
Chinese stainless steel futures soared as much as 10 per cent on Thursday to their highest since March 9, after raw material nickel’s prices hit upper limits on both the London Metal Exchange (LME) and the Shanghai bourse.
The most-active stainless steel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, for April delivery, closed up 6.7 per cent at 21,680 yuan ($US3405.00) a tonne. It rose to 22,345 yuan per tonne earlier during the session.
Forrest’s plan for an iron ore train fitted with F1 motor: Fortescue’s Andrew Forrest has bought a firm of UK engineers. He wants them to make him an iron ore train that uses no external power and creates no emissions. Right now.
Xiang Guangda, the owner of nickel and stainless-steel giant Tsingshan Holding Group, bought contracts on the London Metal Exchange to reduce his short bet as the nickel market briefly unfroze this week, Bloomberg reported.
The move reduces the size of the potential pain for Xiang and his banks as nickel prices soar once again — prices on the LME are up more than 30 per cent over the past two days. However, the businessman and his allies have only reduced a portion of their total short position, Bloomberg reported.
Australian sharemarket
Resources, utilities stocks lift ASX to 0.1pc gain: The S&P/ASX 200 shook off a drop at the open to add 9.2 points to 7387.1 on Thursday as the energy sector was boosted by oil prices breaching $US120 a barrel.
Upgrade wave awaits for resource sector: A wave of upgrades is set to hit the mining and energy sector, as analysts rush to keep up soaring commodity prices sparked by the conflict in Ukraine.
Street Talk
Chanticleer
social experiment by Livio Acerbo #greengroundit #bitcoin – original source here