Energy stocks lead the market into positive territory

The US market closed slightly higher on Friday but overall finished the week lower as concerns resurfaced that the Federal Reserve may raise rates more than previously expected. Recent economic data, including lower-than-expected initial jobless claims, have reignited rate hike fears and concerns that the Federal Reserve may have more work ahead.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.14 per cent to snap a three-day losing streak and finish at 4,457. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.22 per cent, to close at 34,576, while the Nasdaq Composite just managed to fall into positive territory rising 0.09 per cent to finish at 13,761.

All the major averages finished the week lower than they started, with the S&P and Nasdaq dropping 1.3 per cent and 1.9 per cent, respectively, for their first negative week in three. The Dow finished about 0.8 per cent lower.

Energy stocks rose Friday as oil prices continued their recent rise. Major winners included Marathon Petroleumand Phillips 66, both up about 3 per cent. Valero Energy jumped 4 per cent.

Apple broke a two day losing streak finishing up 0.4 per cent, whilst Microsoft and Salesforce rose about 1 per cent. Other names, including Nvidia and Tesla, fell more than 1 per cent.

Block shares shed 5.3 per cent as the payments company grappled with a systems outage.

Turning to US sectors, Energy & Utilities were the best performers whilst Real Estate & Industrials were the worst performing sectors.

In commodities, European gas prices jumped 13 per cent on Friday after workers at liquefied natural gas facilities in Australia began strike action, stoking fears of disruption to global supplies.

Brent crude last week breached $90 a barrel for the first time in 2023 after Riyadh and Moscow extended supply cuts to the end of the year, despite oil having already rallied 25 per cent since June as global demand hits a record high.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.1 per cent rise.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7:25 AM was buying 63.81 US cents.

Commodities

Gold added 0.01 per cent. Silver fell 0.28 per cent. Copper dropped 1.21 per cent. Oil gained 0.74 per cent.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE gained 0.49 per cent, Frankfurt added 0.14 per cent, and Paris closed 0.62 per cent higher.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 1.16 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was closed on Friday while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 1.18 per cent lower.

On Friday, the Australian sharemarket closed 0.20 per cent lower at 7,157.

Ex-dividends

Chorus Limited (ASX:CNU) is paying 20.062 cents unfranked
CSL Limited (ASX:CSL) is paying 199.2278 cents 10 per cent franked
HUB24 Ltd (ASX:HUB) is paying 18.5 cents fully franked
Lgi Limited (ASX:LGI) is paying 1.2 cents fully franked
L1 Long Short Fund (ASX:LSF) is paying 5.5 cents fully franked
Peppermoney (ASX:PPM) is paying 3.5 cents fully franked
Qualitas Limited (ASX: QAL) is paying 5.5 cents fully franked
Step One Limited (ASX:STP) is paying 5 cents fully franked
Terracom Ltd (ASX:TER) is paying 3 cents fully franked
Universal Store (ASX:UNI) is paying 8 cents fully franked

Dividends payable

Cyclopharm Ltd (ASX:CYC)
Vicinity Centres (ASX:VCX)
Fiducian Group Ltd (ASX:FID)

Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.

Disclaimer

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