AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
FRA
GER
ESP
ITA
NLD
PRT
SWE
GRC
IND
POL
BRA
ZAF
RUS
CHN
UAE
Highlights
- The S&P/ASX 200 closed higher today (20 July 2022), up 1.65% at 6,759.20 points.
- In last five trading sessions, the benchmark index has gained 2.08%.
- All sectors ended higher today, and IT was the best performing sector.
Australian share market ended higher today (July 20) with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gaining 1.65% or 109.60 points to end the day at 6,759.20 points.
Today’s Australian stock market also opened on a positive note due to strong Wall Street leads. The Wall Street's strong rally on Tuesday (July 19) dropped hints that most of the worries about rising interest rates and a potential recession have passed, and investors are now feeling more confident about purchasing stocks at the current price.
Key pointers from ASX close today:
- The ASX 200 benchmark index closed higher on Wednesday.
- The top performing stocks in this index were Megaport Limited and Zip Co Limited, up 23.03% and 12.71% respectively.
- In last five trading sessions, the benchmark index has gained 2.08%, but is down 9.21% on year-to-date basis.
- All sectors ended higher today. Information Technology was the best performing sector, gaining 3.77% today. Materials advanced 2.50%, while A-REIT was up 2.19% today.
- Volatility indicator A-VIX index was down 3.16% today.
- The All-ordinaries Index followed the broader market trend gaining 1.78%.
News Makers
Megaport Limited (ASX:MP1): The share price increased by 23.03% to AU$7.93 after the company reported its first quarterly EBITDA profit. The quarter's normalised EBITDA totalled AU$1 million. The company’s revenues rose 10% to AU$30.6 million from the previous quarter.
Allkem Limited (ASX:AKE): The company's shares climbed after reporting strong quarterly performance. The shares closed 0.92% higher at AU$9.89 each.
BKI Investment Company Limited (ASX:BKI): Shares of BKI gained 3.68% to end the day at AU$1.69 per share. According to BKI, it achieved record profit levels for the full year ended on 30 June 2022 (FY22), with a 175% increase in Net Profit After Tax and special dividends.
Bond yields
Australia’s 10-year Bond Yield stands at 3.577% as of 4:40 PM AEST.
Image Source: © Djbobus | Megapixl.com
In global markets:
As more firms joined large banks in posting earnings that beat expectations, US stocks closed significantly higher on Tuesday, bringing relief to investors concerned about increasing inflation and Fed tightening that were hurting corporate bottom lines.
With a gain of 106 points or 2.76% on Tuesday, the S&P 500 finished at its highest level since June 9. For the first time since late June at 3,937, the benchmark closed over 3,900 points.
The Asian stock market rose on Wednesday (20 July 2022) as Wall Street's finest night in a month raised expectations that equities markets were establishing a base after months of pressure.
On Thursday (July 21), the officials of European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of Japan (BOJ) will meet and it is anticipated that the ECB will be able to raise rates by 25 basis points. The BOJ is less likely to alter the rates, though.
As the countries worry about the impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict and sanctions on Russian gas supplies, this week is expected to be crucial for the European markets. Nord Stream 1, which is a crucial gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, is anticipated to reopen after being shut down due to Russia-Ukraine war.
In Commodities markets:
Oil recovered from early losses as risk appetite on equity markets increased. The US benchmark recovered from falling below US$100 to close 1.6% higher at US$104.22.
Meanwhile, Crude Oil WTI was spotted trading at US$99.31/bbl at 4.06 PM AEST while Brent Oil was at US$106.03/bbl at 4.07 PM AEST.
Gold was at US$1704.80 an ounce at 4.10 PM AEST.
