The key takeaways from the last 24 hours
ASX (ASX:XAO) gains on rate cut hopes, Appen (ASX:APX) jumps, Dexus in court battle
The local share market finished the week at a three-month high, posting a 0.6 per cent gain on Friday and delivering a 1.4 per cent gain for the week. It was pushed higher by seven of the 11 industry sectors, with property a key contributor. The interest rate sensitive sector bounced strongly on hopes of an impending interest rate cut by the RBA following weaker economic data in the US. Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) finished 2.9 pr cent higher and Vicinity (ASX:VCX) 2.2 per cent. Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) retreated from an all-time high, albeit only slightly, while gold miners rallied as the AUD continued to weaken, with Evolution (ASX:EVN) adding 3.6 per cent. Property group Dexus (ASX:DXS) fell 1.1 per cent after the board of Australia Pacific Airports Corp alleged the company breached confidentiality and could be forced to sell its stake in Melbourne Airport. While shares in Appen (ASX:APX) posted a massive jump, adding 18.7 per cent, after delivering revenue guidance well ahead of expectations.
US stocks weaken late despite US-Europe discussions, Moody’s cuts US credit rating, CoreWeave surges on NVIDIA deal
US benchmarks gave up significant early gains, sitting just off a full-blown bull market, with the Nasdaq lagging to gain 0.5 per cent, and the Dow Jones and S&P500 both adding more than 0.7 per cent for the session. The late weakness was driven by news that Moody’s had cut the credit rating on US debt as it seeks to place pressure on the government to cut spending and reverse tax cuts. This overcame positive news that a prior impasse that held back US- Europe trade discussions had been overcome in a positive move for the global economy. The result was 3.4 per cent weekly gain for the Dow, 5.3 for the S&P500 and 7.2 per cent for the Nasdaq.
In company news, CoreWeave (NYSE:CRWV) an AI scaling business rallied 22 per cent after NVIDIA (NYSE:NVDA) announced a strategic stake in the company. Applied Materials (NYSE:AMAT) the semiconductor technology provider fell by more than 5 per cent after the company announced a significant hit from the US-China trade dispute.