Markets fell by 'this much' after the Fed indicated it will start tapering asset purchases. (Pic: Getty)
Market Highlights and 5 ASX Small Caps to watch on Thursday
News
share
Wall Street falls as market digests Fed minutes
All three main US benchmarks fell overnight, as the market digests the contents of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in July.
The Dow Jones and S&P 500 both fell by 1.07%, and tech heavy Nasdaq by 0.89%.
The FOMC minutes discussed the possibility of tapering the US asset purchase program, and said that: “Various participants commented that economic and financial conditions would likely warrant a reduction in coming months.”
Defensive stocks like healthcare, consumer staples, and utilities mainly declined.
In other markets, the iron ore price tumbled by nearly 5% to $US153.39 a tonne on China’s steel restrictions and slowing economy, while oil prices also dropped by around 1%.
To cryptos, where Bitcoin is trading steady at the US$44,700 level at 8:00am AEST.
According to go-to gun analyst Michaël van de Poppe , if Bitcoin does drop below its “critical support level” of US$44K, the next levels to watch will be US$43K and then US$40K.
ASX 200 to open lower on Thursday
The ASX 200 looks set to open lower his morning, with futures markets (September contracts) pointing down by 0.39% at 8:30am AEST.
Yesterday, the ASX 200 traded slightly higher for most of the day but closed at 7,502 points, which was 0.12% lower. The resources sector shed the most, falling by 2.97%.
In large caps news this morning, Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) has reported a full-year $2.3 billion loss. The company said the loss was due to falling commodity prices across its key businesses of electricity, natural gas and oil markets.
Treasury Wine Estates (ASX:TWE) meanwhile increased its full year net profit by 1.9% to $250 million. The company declared a final dividend of 13c a share vs 8c a share in the previous year.
5 ASX small caps to watch today
The company reported a full year NPAT of $8.3m, which was 643% higher than the previous year. TRS said it will not provide guidance for FY22 at this stage, but noted that ongoing challenges in the international supply chain are expected to result in shipping costs remaining elevated.
The company has been selected by the US National Football League (NFL) as an Approved Sportsbook Operator, beginning with the upcoming 2021 season. Through its fixed odds and PointsBetting platform, the company says it will now be able to offer the most NFL pre-game betting options.
Family Zone Cyber Safety (ASX:FZO)
The company said it has been awarded a substantial contract by Public Sector Broadband Aggregation (PSBA) of Wales through its subsidiary, Smoothwall. The 3-year deal is worth around $1.45m ($475k per annum), and will involve Smoothwall providing cloud reporting services to all state schools in Wales.
The company says it has got the backing of shareholders to fast-track commercialisation of its commercial lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling operations. Primobius, which is a 50-50 joint venture between Neometals and SMS Group, will now expand the current demonstration plant in Germany and build up operational capacity to provide a 10tpd battery disposal recycling service by Q1 2022.
The online marketplace reported a full year FY21 NPAT of 31 million, compared to a loss of $9 million in FY20. This came off the back of record marketplace revenue of $553 million, which is 58% higher than FY20. RBL also expects FY22 marketplace revenue to be slightly above FY21 figures.
Read MoreMarkets
