The energy sector is the only industry sector that has slipped into the red, down 0.2 per cent, with Woodside (down 0.5 per cent), Santos (down 0.4 per cent) and Ampol (down 0.1 per cent) all declining.
Block Inc, the owner of Afterpay, has struggled to rebound by midday, tumbling 6.6 per cent despite announcing a 19 per cent increase in profits for the September quarter, reaching $US2.25 billion ($3.37 billion), The profit gains were overshadowed by the company’s total net revenue of $US5.98 billion in the reported quarter, which missed Wall Street’s expectations of $US6.24 billion.
The local index is sitting firmly in the green on Friday, after the ASX lifted 0.3 per cent the day before as the US election outcome continues to generate more steam for global markets. Investors are awaiting news of a stimulus boost from China as the National People’s Congress Standing Committee reaches the final day of its five-day meeting.
In the US, most stocks rose on Thursday with the S&P 500 climbing 0.7 per cent to add to its surge from the day before following Donald Trump’s presidential victory. The Dow Jones was virtually unchanged and edged down by less than a point, while the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.5 per cent.
The Fed’s announcement that it was easing its main interest rate caused few ripples in the market because even the precise size of it was so well anticipated by investors.
The central bank began easing rates in September and indicated more cuts were likely to come, as it focuses more on keeping the job market humming after helping get inflation nearly down to its 2 per cent target. What’s less certain in the minds of investors now is how much Trump’s victory may upset the Fed’s plans.
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said that “in the near term, the election will have no effects” on interest-rate policy.Credit: Bloomberg
Trump is pushing for tariffs and other policies that economists say could drive inflation higher, along with the economy’s growth. Traders have already begun paring forecasts for how many cuts to rates the Fed will deliver next year because of that. While lower rates can boost the economy, they can also give inflation more fuel.
For now, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said, nothing is changing. “In the near term, the election will have no effects” on interest-rate policy, he said.
With any president, Powell said the Fed looks at possible policy changes and simulates how they could affect the economy. Only after looking at the overall effect of all the policies do Fed officials decide how that should shape where interest rates go. And at this point, Powell said it’s still not clear what the policies will be after Trump returns to the White House.
“We don’t guess, we don’t speculate and we don’t assume,” he said.
On Wall Street, healthcare services company McKesson helped drive the market by jumping 10.6 per cent after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
Lyft revved up by 22.8 per cent after the ride-hailing app breezed past Wall Street’s sales and profit expectations, and Ralph Lauren rose 6.6 per cent after customers in Asia and Europe helped it deliver a bigger profit than expected.
They helped make up for bank stocks, which gave back some of their stellar gains from the day before. Other “Trump trades” that had rocketed higher after the election also lost some of their juice.
The stock that’s become most synonymous with the president-elect, Trump Media & Technology Group, fell 23 per cent.
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In stock markets abroad, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3 per cent after the Bank of England cut its own interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point.
With AP and Reuters
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