Wall Street closed lower for a second day on Wednesday as a spike in treasury yields prompted investors to sell equities on growing fears that a new US budget bill would place even more pressure on the country’s already large deficit. The S&P500 fell 1.61%, the Nasdaq lost 1.41% and the Dow Jones ended the day down 1.91%.

Across the European region on Wednesday, markets closed mixed as hotter-than-expected inflation out of the UK and a slew of corporate earnings results weighed on investor sentiment. The STOXX 600 fell 0.3%, Germany’s DAX lost 0.2%, the French CAC slipped 0.3% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day down 0.2%. UK inflation data for April came in at a rise to 3.5%, topping expectations of a rise to 3.3%, which slashes hopes of a rate cut in the near term.

Across the Asia region on Wednesday markets closed mostly higher led by South Korea’s Kospi Index rising 0.91%, while China’s CSI index rose 0.47%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.62%, but Japan’s Nikkei ended the day down 0.61%.

Locally on Wednesday, the ASX200 posted a 0.52% gain as investor optimism carried from the prior day and multiple factors boosted the local market.

Investor sentiment was driven by the RBA’s rate cut in Australia and outlook for more policy easing in months to come and, on a global scale, by China and the US making progress on the tariff negotiations front. Bond yields are also falling which drives investor appetite for equities and a rise in commodities fuelled investor appetite for materials and energy stocks yesterday so broadly it was a great day on the market.

Nine of the 11 sectors ended today’s session in the green led by energy and healthcare sectors rising around 1% each.

Mayne Pharma shares tumbled near 30% on Wednesday amid uncertainty over the Cosette takeover offer. Cosette, a US pharmaceutical giant now believes there has been a material adverse change in the company’s financial performance since the offer was first made in February including Mayne issuing weaker-than-expected earnings guidance and disclosed a potential US regulatory issue regarding its contraceptive pill.

What to watch today:

• On the commodities front this morning, oil is trading 1.33% lower at US$61.21/barrel, gold is up 0.81% at US$3317.30/ounce and iron ore is flat at US$100.05/tonne.
• The Aussie dollar has further strengthened against the greenback to buy 64.34 US cents, 92.67 Japanese Yen, 48.01 British Pence and 1 New Zealand dollar and 8 cents.
• Ahead of Thursday’s trading session the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX 200 will open the day down almost 1% tracking Wall Street’s slide overnight.

Trading ideas:

• Bell Potter has raised the 12-month price target on Catapult Group (ASX:CAT) from $4.40 to $5.00 and maintain a hold rating on the sports tracking and data technology company following the release of the company’s results yesterday including revenue and gross profits for FY25 modestly ahead of BP expectations, as well as free cash flow of US$8.6m which was a positive surprise.
• And Trading Central has identified a bearish signal on Sims (ASX:SGM) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 41-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may fall from the close of $15.42 to the range of $11.60 to $12.30 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday as investors await clarification on the tariffs front following a strong rally in recent weeks. The S&P500 fell 0.4%, the Dow Jones lost 0.27% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 0.38%. The recovery rally since Trump announced negotiations were underway with China has seen the S&P500 rally more than 20% since hitting an April low, so investors have just pulled back on Tuesday in anticipation for further clarification on the tariffs front.

In Europe overnight, markets closed higher as strong corporate earnings results in the region boosted investor sentiment. The STOXX 600 rose 0.7%, Germany’s DAX gained 0.3%, the French CAC added 0.75% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day up 0.9%.

Across the Asia region on Tuesday, markets rose as investors assessed the latest rate cuts in the region including out of the RBA and the People’s Bank of China trimming the 1-year loan prime rate from 3.1% to 3% and the 5-year to 3.5%. China’s CSI index rose 0.57% on Tuesday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.5%, Japan’s Nikkei added 0.8% and South Korea’s Kospi index ended the day flat.The local market closed 0.6% higher yesterday as investors welcomed the RBA’s 25 basis point rate cut amid cooling inflation and escalating cost of living pressures.The RBA cut to 3.85% came despite the latest inflation reading and labour market data coming out of favour for a rate cut, however, the overall picture is positive for Australia’s economic stability in taming inflation over the long-run.

Rate sensitive sectors like tech and real estate stocks led the gains yesterday with the sectors rising 2.3% and 1.4% respectively.Technology One soared over 10% on Tuesday after the software giant increased its interim dividend by 30% on the back of strong revenue growth in the first half. Telstra shares also rallied after the telco giant said it would be raising prices, which is good for investors but not so great for customers.

What to watch today:

• On the commodities front this morning, oil is trading 0.22% lower at US$62/barrel, gold is up 2.04% at US$3288/ounce and iron ore is down 0.08% at US$100/tonne.
• The Aussie dollar has weakened against the greenback overnight to buy 64.16 US cents, 92.75 Japanese Yen, 48.22 British Pence and 1 New Zealand dollar and 8 cents.
• Ahead of the midweek trading session the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day up 0.62%, extending on Tuesday’s rally.

Trading ideas:

• Bell Potter has maintained a hold rating on Technology One (ASX:TNE) and have raised the 12-month price target on the software giant from $31.00 to $35.50 following the release of 1H25 results including revenue and profit before tax topping BPe and FY25 guidance was slightly below BPe. The analyst maintains a hold rating as the new price target is a modest discount to the current share price.
• And Bell Potter has initiated coverage of AML3D (ASX:AL3) with a speculative buy rating and 12-month price target of 30cps with the analyst seeing the company is at an inflection point given accelerating demand from the US defence industrial base driving material increase in system sales over the next 3-years. AML3D is a welding, metallurgical science, robotics and software business that produces automated 3D printing systems that utilise Wire Additive Manufacturing technology.

Wall Street ended the first trading session of the new week in positive territory as investors overlooked the latest moody credit rating downgrade on the U.S. on Friday, and instead favoured optimism from the trade negotiation progress with China. The S&P500 rose 0.09% to post a 6th straight winning day, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.02% and the Dow Jones ended the day up 0.32%.

The debt downgrade on Friday pushed bond yields higher early on Monday before they retreated in afternoon trade hence sending equities higher to start the week.

Over in Europe on Monday markets in the region closed mostly flat ahead of key corporate earnings results out this week. The STOXX 600 closed flat, Germany’s DAX rose 0.6% to yet another fresh record high, the French CAC fell 0.04%, and, in the UK, the FTSE 100 ended the day up 0.17%.

Across the Asia markets on Monday, it was a sea of red as investors assessed the Moody’s credit rating downgrade on the U.S. and latest slew of economic data out of China including retail sales data rising at a weaker rate than expected for April, while industrial output for the same period rose more than economists were expecting.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.05%, China’s CSI index lost 0.5%, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.68% and South Korea’s Kospi index ended the day down 0.89%.
China’s retail sales for April rose 5.1% in data out yesterday which fell short of expectations of a 5.8% rise and indicates the impact of sluggish post-pandemic era and tariffs on consumer spend in the region.

Locally to start the new trading week, the ASX200 posted a 0.58% loss on Monday as a sharp selloff in energy and materials stocks weighed on the key index and investor sentiment ahead of the RBA’s rate announcement today.

What to watch today:

• The price of gold rebounded on Monday following Moody’s downgrade of the US credit rating to AA1 from AAA amid mounting concerns over US economic outlook and growing budget deficit. Gold producers including Northern Star Resources, Evolution Mining and Ramelius Resources posted gains over 1%, 3% and 2% respectively.
• On a corporate level, we saw Domino’s and Mineral Resources shares both slide yesterday after announcing respective changes at the board level, with Domino’s Chief of Australia and NZ business, Kerri Hayman, stepping down in August after 37-years with the pizza giant, while Mineral Resources announced the appointment of Malcolm Bundey as successor to outgoing chairman James McClements, who will step away from the company’s board in July.
• On the commodities front this morning, oil is trading 0.32% higher at US$62.69/barrel, gold is up 0.81% at US$3229.67/ounce, and iron ore is down 0.08% at US$100/tonne.
• The Aussie dollar has strengthened against the greenback overnight to buy 64.60 US cents, 93.53 Japanese yen, 48.30 British pence and 1 New Zealand dollar at 9 cents.
• Ahead of Tuesday’s trading session in Australia the SPI futures are anticipating the market will open the day up 0.82%.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter has upgraded the rating on Paragon Care (ASX:PGC) from a hold to a buy and have a 12-month price target on the company of 52cps following the analyst seeing EPS growth in FY26 which is expected to drive all valuation metrics lower including the PE ratio to below 20x. Management are heavily invested in the long term success of the business and remain laser focused on delivery of the integration, according to the analyst.
• Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 19-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may rise from the close of $18.88 to the range of $24.50 to $24.50 according to standard principles of technical analysis.