Strong earnings numbers drive US markets higher

US markets pushed higher led by the big tech names as earnings numbers continued to surprise on the upside.

The S&P500 closed up 1.02 per cent and the tech heavy Nasdaq led the charge finishing 2.03 per cent higher at the close. The Dow Jones closed 0.4 per cent higher.

The S&P and Nasdaq delivered their best week since November last year with the S&P adding 2.7 per cent for the week and the Nasdaq adding 4.2 per cent for the week.

Turning to US sectors the best performer was Communications which closed up 4.7 per cent on the day. The worst performer was Utilities which closed down 1.12 per cent.

Markets rallied strongly on several strong results with Alphabet jumping more than 10 per cent on better-than-expected first-quarter earnings. The company also authorised its first-ever dividend and a $70 billion buyback. Microsoft added nearly 2 per cent as the software maker posted strong fiscal third-quarter results and showed an acceleration in cloud growth.

The busy earnings season continues this week, with results expected from technology giants Apple and Amazon. The Federal Reserve’s next rate decision is due out Wednesday.

Turning to commodities, the World Bank predicts that energy and other commodity prices will no longer serve as significant deflationary factors in the near future, hindering central banks' ability to decrease interest rates.

Geopolitical tensions tightening supplies and increasing demand for industrial metals and energy transition materials have halted the sharp decline in commodity prices observed over the previous two years, according to the bank's report.

Global commodity prices, which plummeted by 40 percent between mid-2022 and mid-2023, contributed to a 2-percentage-point decrease in global inflation during that period, but have since stabilised, marking the end of this deflationary trend.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.3 per cent gain.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7.30am was buying 65.32 US cents.

Commodities

Gold has gained 0.20 per cent. Silver has fallen 0.35 per cent. Copper has added 0.78 per cent. Oil is up 0.34 per cent.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE added 0.75 per cent, Frankfurt gained 1.36 per cent, and Paris closed 0.89 per cent higher.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.81 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 2.12 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 1.17 per cent higher.

On Friday, the Australian share market closed flat at 7,683.0.

Ex-dividends
Acrow Limited (ASX:ACF) is paying 2.85 cents fully franked
Gryphon Capital (ASX:GCI) is paying 1.46 cents unfranked
Kkr Credit Inc Fund (ASX:KKC) is paying 1.67 cents unfranked
Perpetual Cred Trust (ASX:PCI) is paying 0.6653 cents unfranked
360 Capital Mortgage (ASX:TCF) is paying 3.5 cents unfranked

Dividends payable
Cardno Ltd (ASX:CDD)
Eureka Group Holdings Ltd (ASX:EGH)
RAM Essential Services Property Fund (ASX:REP)

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

Disclaimer

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