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Wall Street closes mixed amid Powell's rate stance

Tim Montague-Jones

Tim Montague-Jones has over 20 year investment management experience working in the financial markets. Previous experience includes a ten year stint at Morningstar as a Senior Equity Analyst/Portfolio Manager, founding the Morningstar Growth Portfolio and a founding member of their Investment Committee. Tim was also a Senior Equity Analyst for Macquarie Group and a member of the winning team to obtain the 2016 LONSEC Fund Manager of the Year award.

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Morning Research Notes - 12.02.25

 

Despite Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments on maintaining current interest rates, US markets saw mixed results on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average posting gains while the Nasdaq declined. Commodities performed well: Gold remained unchanged to close at $US2,897.8 an ounce, Brent oil rose by 1.8% to $US76.03 a barrel, and Iron ore slightly increased by 0.8% to $US107.20 a tonne.

Wall Street closed with mixed results on Tuesday. The S&P 500 edged up by 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 123 points, or 0.3%. However, the Nasdaq slipped by 0.4%. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments about not rushing to cut interest rates, despite concerns over President Donald Trump’s tariffs potentially fueling inflation, kept gains in check. Treasury yields climbed as expectations for rate cuts diminished. On the earnings front, Coca-Cola saw a nearly 5% rise after beating profit and revenue estimates, while Marriott International fell over 5% due to a disappointing profit forecast.

The Australian stock market closed higher on Tuesday, with the ASX 200 rising by 0.01%. Major sectors such as Materials, Financials, Utilities, and Information Technology all closed in the green. In contrast, Healthcare ended the day in the red, falling by 2.94%. The commodities sector had a bearish run, with Copper, Zinc, and Nickel all closing in the red, falling by 0.01%, 1.07%, and 1.12% respectively. Aluminium managed to notch gains of 0.02%.

 

Chart of the day

 

The average cost to develop a drug is $2.3 billion, and an increasing share of that spending has gone to contract research organizations (CROs) and contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs) in recent years. From 2014 to 2022, CRO and CDMO spending increased by about 13 percent annually, compared with about 8 percent for overall R&D spending. This outsourcing trend could accelerate, with CRO and CDMO spending projected to more than double the 2014 total within the next four years.

 

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​​Source: McKinsey




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