Sharemarkets in the US and Europe were on the backfoot in the run up to a clutch of central bank meetings, including the Federal Reserve.
The Fed is expected to trim the fed funds rate by a quarter point, with analysts still pondering the pace of future cuts. US retail sales rose in November, suggesting a strong December quarter for consumer spending in the world’s biggest economy.
Nvidia was among those weighing on Wall Street, down 1.4%, and in correction territory having shed 10% from a peak in early November.
The S&P 500 was down 0.4% in afternoon trading, while the UK’s FTSE slipped 0.8% and Germany’s DAX was down 0.3% ahead of a slew of central bank meetings in the US, UK, Japan, Sweden and Norway.
While stock markets were soggy, bitcoin continued to press to a new record above US$108,000, and was recently up 1.6% at US$107,534, while gold dipped 0.3% to US$2,661 an ounce.
The auto sector faces a potential shake-up with Nikkei reporting that Honda Motor and Nissan Motor will start talks to merge their businesses under a single holding company to better compete against larger electric vehicle makers. Tesla extended its gains in afternoon trading, up 2.4%, while Ford Motor Co increased 0.4% and General Motors slipped 1.5%.
In the energy sector, Norway’s Equinor made another oil and gas discovery in the North Sea, which it said wasn’t big enough to develop in isolation but was the second recent find in the area. Brent crude oil as down 1.2% at US$73.06 a barrel at 7am in Auckland.
White gold
Meanwhile, milk prices fell at the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction, with the GDT price index down 2.8% with an average selling price of US$4,148 a tonne. Whole milk powder prices fell 2.9% to US$3,890 a tonne.
“The overnight GDT dairy auction was softer, as forewarned by the futures market, with the price index down 2.8%, breaking a run of stronger pricing,” Bank of New Zealand senior markets strategist Jason Wong said in a note. “Further falls would challenge a $10 milk price for the season. Yesterday the futures market closed at $9.95.”
The kiwi dollar traded at 57.60 US cents at 7am in Auckland from 57.73 cents at 5pm yesterday, and was at 90.85 Australian cents from 90.71 cents.
Locally, Statistics New Zealand will release the September quarter balance of payments, which is expected to show a small narrowing of the current account deficit. Westpac’s December quarter consumer confidence survey is also due for release.
And Sanford’s annual meeting in Auckland should provide shareholders an update on managing director David Mair’s review of the business.
