The ASX has notched its fourth straight session of positive growth, following the US up on optimism the Federal Reserve has reached peak interest rates and will lift them no further.
Miners were among the top performers today, helped along by news of a potential $US137 billion stimulus package the Chinese government could soon implement.
Overall, the ASX lifted 0.63% after a midday dip threatened to leave the market flat, gaining 44.40 points to 7,085.00.
The top performing stocks were Bega Cheese Ltd, which gained 5.17%, and Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:NEU), up 5.38%.
Nine of eleven sectors were firmly in the green, with just Health Care and Consumer Staples remaining mostly flat but in positive territory.
The greatest gains were in Consumer Discretionary with a 1.20% gain and Information Technology with a 1.49% bump. Energy also lifted despite being down 3.79% for the month, gaining 0.56% today and 2.76% over the last five trading days.
Oil is continued its upward surge, gaining 4.31% today. Silver also bounced, gaining 3.90% while palladium (-1.72%) and lead (-0.74%) faltered.
Oil and defence stocks on the rise after Hamas attack in Israel
The Hamas-Israel conflict has captured headlines over the last few days, sparking consternation and speculation.
Jessica Amir, market strategist for online stock trading platform moomoo, offered some insights into the market movements the conflict has produced.
“As supply thins and demand picks up for oil, investors can expect oil price to head higher,” Amir wrote, “Notably, US oil strategic oil reserve is at its lowest level since 2022 — a major opportunity for investors to invest in US energy giants in anticipation of the top up.”
The following US energy giants were all upgraded by analysts:
- Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX)
- Diamondback Energy
- Hess
- Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO)
- Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN)
- Chevron (NYSE:CVX) ConocoPhillips (NYSE:NYSE:COP)
- Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO)
- Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY)
Amir also called for greater fortitude in the face of shifting market winds.
“Investors must remember to stay calm — over time, quality stocks have been able to historically ride out many market storms and deliver compounding returns to investors,” she wrote.
“It is worth considering what companies could benefit from an escalation in military action. Recall that most countries spend 2% of their national income on defence.”
Amir said the following US defence companies are worth considering:
- Boeing (NYSE:BA) Co
- RTX Corp
- Lockheed Martin (NYSE:NYSE:LMT) Corp
- Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NYSE:NOC) Corp
- General Dynamics (NYSE:NYSE:GD) Corp
- Axon Enterprise
- Huntington Ingalls Industries
The five at five
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