Wall Street: Some Good And Some Bad
A bit of a roller coaster of a week on Wall Street. Last weeks plunge of 1,300 on the Dow spiked some interesting changes this week, such as the Dow’s gain of 547.87 points Tuesday, marking the biggest one-day percentage gain since March. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also saw brighter days on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq notching its best session since the spring. The cause is most likely attributable to upbeat jobs data findings and healthy corporate profits. The end of the week was a bit more volatile, equalizing a bit of the gains and putting us essentially back where we sat at the beginning of the week – wondering where it goes from here.
If Wall Street Is Choppy, So Is The ASX
Choppy overnight sessions on Wall Street typically lead to lower openings here in AUS. With stock indexes on Wall Street correcting down from Tuesday’s high and influences from the turbulence in EU markets, the market is risky again just as it was starting to look a bit more stable. Essentially, more losses, most likely in the ASX200’s (modestly sized) tech space along with the healthcare sector. To sum it up, this Friday morning at open SPI futures were down 51 points or 1% to 5962.
China’s Stocks Hit 4-Year Lows
The Shanghai Composite, which is the country’s benchmark index, has fallen by more than 2.9% to their lowest level since November 2014. Other indexes such as the Shenzhen Composite and the FTSE China A50 also nursed losses in excess of 2%. The causes most likely lie in trade war tensions with the US, slowing growth, and the impact of forced selling. Tensions about trade have also meant tumultuous things for the Chinese yuan.
Italy Breaks Some Rules
Italy’s 2019 proposed budget draft is in serious breach of EU budget rules, according to the European Commission. In a letter from the Commission to Economy Minister Giovanni Tria, the Commission states that planned government spending is too high, that the structural deficit would rise instead of fall, and that Italian public debt would not fall in line with EU rules. So why the non-compliance? Italy calls this proposal the “Peoples Budget“, essentially a costly series of spending, pension and tax changes, much of the costs of which will be paid for by expanding the deficit. The European markets are definitely something to keep an eye on.
A Good Week To Be An Investor In Canadian Weed Shares
It’s been a long time coming, and, for those who held out on the rough ride of weed investments, the wait has been worth it. Recreational marijuana is officially legal in Canada as of October 17th, making Canada the second country after Uruguay to legalise possession and use of recreational cannabis. Canadian weed stocks saw major surges and now Aurora Cannabis, one of the largest Canadian marijuana producers, is going public on the New York Stock Exchange. For even more in pot news, stocks in Aurora Cannabis and Tilray, another cannabis company, surged Monday after BNN Bloomberg reported that Coca-Cola is in serious talks with Aurora to develop cannabis-infused beverages.
