The local market has made an early move on Monday, trading back above the 7,000 points mark for the first time since September.

Local markets have risen for a fifth straight morning.

At home the gains come in the face of Tuesday’s Big Note policy decision from the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The smart money is on Martin Place raising interest rates again amid stickier-than-expected-inflation-and-stronger-than-expected economic data.

Aussie markets are also tracking US gains, as a weak US jobs report reinforced bets the Federal Reserve is done with rate hikes, giving a boost to equities.

At lunchtime on Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index is ahead by 23 points, or +0.33%, to 7,001 on Monday.

Wall Street gave us another reason to get out of bed early today after a strong Friday session amid strong jobs data and a sense that US rates have peaked.

The benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield has moved well off its 5% highs to a near one-month low of circa 4.65%.

Gold stocks have done well in early trade.

The Healthcare Sector has continued to attract buyers – the majors like Resmed (+3.4%) and CSL (+1.5%) finding support in a lesw hawkish rates environment.

Regis Healthcare (ASX:REG) is up more than +5%.

Across the market, discretionary and IT stocks are also enjoying some sunshine, while the Financials Sector is being lifted by a surging Westpac (+3.6%) in the wake of its stupendous profit haul and $1.5bn share buyback.

Investors are starting to look forward to the earnings reports of the other majors banks.

 

ASX SECTORS AT MIDDAY ON MONDAY

 

Via MarketIndex

 

NOT THE ASX

In the US on Friday there were strong gains across all the major indices, a pretty breathless turnaround from the last few months of maudlin trade – a run which began the very moment US Chair J Powell hinted that the Federal Reserve may’ve fired its last shot in its historic and bloody battle vs inflation at 5am on Wednesday by the Sydenham clock.

To the intense relief of equity traders, 10-year US Treasury yields have jumped back almost 30 basis points from mid-week highs – back down to around 4.65% – and are close to their biggest weekly drop since March.

On Wall Street, the markets’ Gauge of Fear  – the VIX –  made a five-day long plunge of the kind not seen in almost 24 months. The unbreakable US dollar retreated the most since July and even the price of oil tumbled to $US81.

All encouraging signals of a still strong market backed by a still strong economy and enough to make everyone outside of the Middle East and Ukraine forget about the world’s litany of challenges

Wall Street extended the week’s advance on Friday night, with the S&P500 closing up +0.9%, notching its best week in 2023, again illustrating how bond yields drive stocks.

US earnings beats are at the best they’ve been in more than two years.

 

US FUTURES circa 9.30pm, SUNDAY in NEW YORK

 

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for 1 November [intraday]:

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Well. It is M&A Monday in Small Cap Land. Whispir (ASX:WSP) has advised shareholders to take no action in respect of Soprano takeover bid, it announced this morning.

WSP says it will provide a further announcement once it has evaluated and assessed the terms and conditions of the Soprano offer.

The stock is surging.

 

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the most-worst performing ASX small cap stocks for 1 November [intraday]:

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