Investors across the globe watched Trump’s inauguration speech closely for clues on future policy decisions. The US stock market was closed while Europe increased modestly. Australia and New Zealand rose, while Asia was mostly mixed.
US stock market closed due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day
The US stock market was closed for trading in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
European stocks little changed during Trump’s inauguration
European stocks remained close to unchanged as investors watched Trump’s inauguration speech from across the Atlantic. Data released from the region showed that Germany’s producer prices grew faster in December, at +0.8% compared to +0.1% in the month prior. The pan-European Stoxx 600 added +0.1% while London’s FTSE 100 increased +0.2%. The latter led by gains in mining and retail. Siemens Energy fell -2.5% following a broker's downgrade in its stock rating. Telefonica lost -1.7% after the Spanish telecom company announced the refinancing of its main credit facility of €5.5b.
Mostly strong results from Asia and Australia
The ASX 200 firmed +0.5%, with all sectors but energy and utilities in the positive. In stocks, James Hardie added +1.6% following an increase in a broker's target price of the building materials supplier. In results, South32, the diversified miner, posted a December-quarter production report ahead of analyst expectations. New Zealand’s own NZX 50 cut -0.3%. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng leapt +1.8%, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 (+1.2%) close by. China’s CSI 300 (+0.5%) and Shanghai Composite (+0.1%) made more modest gains, while the Kospi (-0.1%) fell into the red.
WTI Crude down, Gold and Iron Ore up
WTI Crude fell -1.7% to US$76.58/bbl, Gold increased +0.4% to US$2,706.40/oz, Iron Ore rose +0.7% to US$101.21/MT.
NZ Headlines
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels’ Singapore-based majority owner City Developments Ltd has announced it intends to make an offer for the 24.14% of the NZX-listed company it doesn’t already own. CDL is offering NZ$2.25 per share in cash, which it said is a +25% premium to the share price at Friday’s close, a +28.4% lift on the one-month volume weighted average price (vwap), and +29.7% up on the three month vwap. It noted the price is ‘in line’ with the stock’s two-year high of $2.25, which was achieved on 8 February 2023.
Today's Events
- StatsNZ: Electronic Card Transactions (Dec 24 qtr)