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Morning Research Notes - 24.04.25
U.S. stocks closed higher yesterday, lifted by robust corporate earnings and cautious optimism surrounding ongoing U.S.-China trade negotiations. Commodities experienced mixed performances yesterday. Gold decreased by 2.7% to $US3,288.34 an ounce, Brent Crude (oil) fell by 1.9% to $US66.16 a barrel, while iron ore increased by 1.7% to $US100.30 a tonne.
Wall Street closed higher on Wednesday, driven by strong corporate earnings and tempered optimism about the U.S.-China trade standoff. The S&P 500 rose by 1.6%, the Dow Jones climbed 450 points (1.2%), and the Nasdaq surged 2.5%. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's comments injected a sense of reality into the situation, clarifying there was no unilateral offer from President Trump to lower tariffs on China, suggesting the standoff could continue. In the corporate sector, Tesla's stock jumped 6% after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter profits. CEO Elon Musk announced plans to reduce the time he devotes to the Trump administration and focus more on Tesla. Boeing gained 6% after posting its first quarterly revenue growth since 2023. Intel rose over 5% on workforce cut reports, while Philip Morris climbed more than 2% after a solid first-quarter report. Conversely, Enphase Energy slumped 15% after missing expectations.
The Australian stock market closed higher yesterday, with the ASX200 rising by 1.31%. Major sectors followed suit, with Materials, Financials, Information Technology, Health Care, and Utilities all recording gains of 0.02%, 0.81%, 2.88%, 2.22%, and 1.37% respectively. Major commodities also had a bullish day, with aluminium, copper, zinc, and nickel all closing in the green.
Chart of the day
The latest McKinsey Global Survey on economic conditions highlights growing uncertainty, with trade policy changes and geopolitical instability now seen as the primary disruptors. For the past three years, geopolitical risks have been the main concern for survey respondents. However, in recent months, worries surrounding trade barriers have surged, matching the concern around geopolitics. Over the past six months, the proportion of respondents identifying trade-related changes as a major disruption to the global economy has more than doubled.
Source: McKinsey
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