ASX rises over Fed president dovish comments

"But this [was not] the way the market has read its comments and the result is soaring US stock markets and a US dollar that has had a big reversal. "

Leading mining stocks led the rise in the index on Thursday, after base and loose metals rallied Wednesday. BHP led the Materials sector up 1.2% to $ 30.98, Rio Tinto rose 1.7% to $ 73.25 and South32 1.6% to $ 3.14.

Small miners also increased on Thursday. Orocobre's shares rose 5.6% to 4.33 dollars, the Western zones closed by 4.9% to 2.16 dollars, while the mining services company Ausdrill saw its shares increase by 4, 1% to $ 1.39.

Local technology stocks have been among the most successful in the market. Altium raised 8.6% to $ 23, Afterpay Touch rose 8.7% to $ 13.87 and Wisetech Global rose 6.5% to $ 18.67.

Bingo Industries shares fell 5.3% to 2.15 USD after ACCC voiced concerns over Bingo's plan to acquire Dial-a-Dump. The regulator is worried about how the deal could affect the competitive landscape. She added that the company would have significant dry discharge capacity in Sydney and that the alternatives were not viable.

Mayne Pharma held its annual general meeting and marked the beginning of the year, with group sales up 21% at the end of October compared to the same period last year . However, the company did not comment on expectations for the year and its shares slid 4.3% to $ 1.

Aristocrat Leisure shares fell 2.8% to $ 25.44 following the announcement of the Company's September 30 results, while net income after tax and significant items of 729.6 million was a 34% increase over the same period last year. market concerns of $ 755 million.

Watch of stock

Afterpay Touch
Bell Potter remains very optimistic about Afterpay Touch after evaluating the ASIC in the buy now and pay later sector. He highlighted ASIC's positive approach to the sector, indicating that the regulator seemed willing to work with the participants. The broker also noted that Afterpay's customer growth rate in the United States jumped last month, doubling the number of new customers from October to November. For the December quarter, Bell Potter increased its total customer growth to 210,000, which it believes is a conservative estimate. Bell Potter has maintained its buy recommendation on the stock, but has raised its target price from $ 21.59 to $ 23.63, a premium of 85.2% over its Wednesday closing price and well above consensus forecasts for the darling market.

What moved the market

Platinum Group Metals
Divergence in the platinum group market continued to widen as the gap between platinum and palladium reached a record high of US $ 361 per ounce. The price of palladium rose 3% to 1187.4 dollars an ounce Wednesday, while that of platinum fell by 0.9% to 826.7 dollars an ounce. The Palladium movement hit a record while platinum fell to its lowest price for more than a month. The price of both metals has been relatively stable for most of the year. However, since August, palladium has started trading at a higher premium than platinum.

Raw Brent
The Brent crude price fell below $ 60 a barrel for the first time since October 2017, as oil supplies in the United States continue to rise before two crucial international meetings. US inventories rose 3.58 million barrels last week, exceeding market expectations. Construction was somewhat offset by a sharp increase in exports. The G20 summit will take place this weekend and OPEC will meet in early December. A reduction in production could be discussed at both meetings. Russia has already slightly reduced its production levels, pumping 40,000 fewer barrels a day than in October.

Australian dollar
The Australian dollar rose sharply Wednesday, supported by a decline in the US dollar, while US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the country's interest rates were approaching a neutral level. The Australian dollar appreciated 1.1% against the US dollar on Wednesday from US72.24 ¢ to US $ 73.06. The Australian dollar initially fell, but resumed shortly thereafter to trade at 73.09 ¢ US in the mid-afternoon. "The decline in private investment spending has not been as severe as the headline suggests, but a slowdown in GDP growth in the third quarter will be hard to avoid," said Marcel Thieliant. , Principal Economist at Capital Economics.

Marco calls
According to ANZ economists, the collapse in oil prices over the past two months will weigh on the overall rate of global inflation in the coming months. "Given the higher-than-trend growth in the US, the Fed will need to carefully examine the general-balancing effects of lower oil prices and how it will boost growth," they said on Thursday. in a note. "On the other hand, the ECB will act more cautiously, as inflation remains stubbornly low and the dynamics of expansion are slowing down at present." They stated that their baseline scenario was that US core inflation would remain stable for the foreseeable future.