It is a shortened trading week this week ahead of the Easter break, the start of school holidays and with a mixed lead from Wall Street. With that in mind, markets look set for a subdued start today which could linger for the rest of the week.
Investors may be buoyed by inflation figures due mid-week and retail figures the following day.
ASX 200 futures are up just 7 points, or 0.1%, to 7,829 points this morning.
The ASX 200 was up 1.29% last week, led by Materials (+2.35%), Real Estate (+1.88%) and Financials (+1.44%).
What happened last week?
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US markets
Were mixed on Friday. In the absence of US economic data, traders kept an eye on Fedspeak. US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s remarks during a 'Fed Listens' event didn’t include monetary policy.
Nike (NYSE:NKE) fell 6.9% after the world's largest sportswear maker warned that revenue in the first half of fiscal 2025 would shrink by a low-single-digit percentage. Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) slid 15.8% after the company forecast annual revenue and profit below expectations.
But shipping company FedEx (NYSE:FDX) surged 7.4% on solid earnings and a US$5 billion share buyback plan. Chip giant Nvidia popped 3.1% after UBS raised its price target to US$1,100.
- The Dow Jones index fell by 305 points or 0.8%.
- The S&P 500 index dipped 0.1%.
- The Nasdaq index added 27 points or 0.2%.
- For the week, the Dow rose by 2% and the S&P 500 gained 2.3%, their biggest weekly gains since mid-December.
- The Nasdaq rose 2.9%, the biggest weekly jump since mid-January.
European markets
Paused near record highs on Friday with British, German and Italian stocks outperforming regional peers following a slate of dovish cues from major central banks this week.
Losses in rate-sensitive technology shares and the personal and household goods index, which each fell about 1%, were offset by gains in defensive utility and real estate shares, which both gained about 1%.
- The continent-wide FTSEurofirst 300 index ended flat but lifted 0.9% for the week.
- The UK FTSE 100 index rose 0.6% to a one-year high, and up 2.6% for the week, as investors continued to cheer the dovish tilt in the Bank of England's monetary policy. UK retail sales were flat in February (survey: -0.4%).
Currencies
Were mixed against the US dollar in European and US trade.
- The Euro fell from US$1.0841 to US$1.0800 and was near US$1.0805 at the US close.
- The Aussie dollar eased from US65.31 cents to US65.09 cents and was near US65.15 cents at the US close.
- The Japanese yen rose from 151.64 yen per US dollar to JPY151.03 and was near JPY151.40 at the US close.
Commodities
Global oil prices slipped on Friday and were flat on the week as the possibility of a ceasefire in Gaza weakened crude benchmarks, while the war in Europe and shrinking US rig count cushioned the fall. The number of rigs fell by one to 509 for the week, according to Baker Hughes, indicating lower future supply.
- The Brent crude price fell US35 cents or 0.4% to US$85.43 a barrel.
- The US Nymex crude price slid US44 cents or 0.5% to US$80.63 a barrel. Brent rose 0.1% but the Nymex fell 0.5% over the week.
Base metal prices were mixed on Friday.
- Copper futures lost 1.2% on a stronger US dollar and as investors locked in profits from a recent rally.
- Aluminium futures rose 0.6%. For the week, copper fell 2.8% but aluminium gained 1.7%.
- On Friday, the gold futures price fell by US$24.70 or 1.1% to US$2,160 an ounce as the US dollar strengthened, making gold more expensive for other currency holders. Spot gold was trading near US$2,164 an ounce at the US close. Bullion edged 0.1% lower for the week.
- Iron ore futures dipped US30 cents or 0.3% to US$110.64 a tonne on Friday. But the steel-making ingredient posted a 0.9% weekly gain on mounting anticipation of a pick-up in demand in China amid signs of improving steel consumption.
What about small caps?
The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries finished Friday 1.02% lower to 3,061.10. Over the last five days, the index was 0.90% higher.
It has been a steady start for small-cap newsflow. You can read about the following and more throughout the day.