Bitcoin tops commodities and stocks, but the boom years are ending
The world's most popular digital currency surged 73.2 per cent over the last financial year, beating platinum's 51 per cent rally and doubling the rise of gold. Bitcoin also smashed the 9.5 per cent gain by the All Ordinaries and the 14.9 per cent advance by the US tech-heavy Nasdaq index.
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Perth Now
29 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Wall Street falls as tariff uncertainty weighs
Wall Street's major indexes have slipped as heightened tariff tensions dampened risk sentiment, while Tesla shares slid after boss Elon Musk announced plans to launch a political party. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US will make several trade announcements in the next 48 hours, ahead of a deadline on Wednesday to finalise trade pacts. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the country was closer to inking several trade pacts and would notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9. He added that those duties are set to take effect on August 1. In April, Trump unveiled a base tariff rate of 10 per cent on most countries and additional duties ranging up to 50 per cent, subsequently pushing the Nasdaq into a bear market. Although he later delayed the effective date for all but 10 per cent until July 9. The new date offers countries a three-week window for further negotiations. Trump also threatened an extra 10 per cent tariff on countries aligning themselves with the "Anti-American policies" of the BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. In early trading on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 207.65 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 44,620.88, the S&P 500 lost 27.38 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 6,251.97 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 115.56 points, or 0.56 per cent, to 20,485.13. Nine of the eleven major S&P sectors were trading in the red, with consumer discretionary falling the most by 1.0 per cent. Electric vehicle maker Tesla dropped 6.8 per cent, on track for its worst day in over a month, after Musk announced the formation of a political party named the American Party, marking a new escalation in his feud with Trump. "Tesla investors are starting to vote their displeasure with him getting back into politics. The potential for him to start his own American party is just the exact opposite of what Tesla investors want," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth. Shares of WNS jumped 14.2 per cent after the French IT services firm Capgemini agreed to buy the outsourcing firm for $US3.3 billion ($A5.1 billion) in cash. Monday's pullback also comes after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at record highs on Thursday following a surprisingly strong jobs report that pointed to resilience in the labour market. The Dow was about 1.0 per cent away from an all-time high. Solid jobs data also backed the Federal Reserve's cautious stance on future interest rate cuts. Traders have fully priced out a July rate cut, with September odds at 64.4 per cent, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. Trump's inflation-causing tariff policies have further complicated the Fed's path to lower rates. As a result, minutes of its June meeting, scheduled for release on Wednesday, should offer more clues on the monetary policy outlook. Attention is also on a sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, passed by House Republicans after markets closed on Thursday, that is set to swell the national deficit by over $US3 ($A4.6) trillion in the next decade. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.1-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.86-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 21 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 69 new highs and 32 new lows.
West Australian
7 hours ago
- West Australian
ASX falls as investors await key Trump, RBA decisions
Cautious investors dragged the Australian sharemarket and dollar lower as they await the fallout from US President Donald Trump's tariff policy and whether or not the Reserve Bank will go through with its widely expected rate cut. The benchmark ASX 200 index slid 13.70 points or 0.16 per cent to finish Monday's trading at 8,589.30. The broader All Ordinaries also finished in the red down 15.50 points or 0.18 per cent to 8,826.40. The Australian dollar slumped 0.58 per cent and is now buying 65.10 US cents. It was a mixed day for markets with six of the 11 sectors finishing in the red, as the local bourse seesawed throughout the day's trading. Utilities were the standout, led by Origin Energy which jumped 6.75 per cent to $11.55 while APA Group was up 0.36 per cent to $8.39 and Meridian Energy finished in the green up 2.22 per cent to $5.53. It was also a strong day for the healthcare sector with CSL jumping 2.15 per cent to $247.98 while Sigma Healthcare rose 0.33 per cent to $3.02 and Pro Medicus closed 0.68 per cent higher to $309.98. CBA shares slipped 0.11 per cent to $177.81, NAB dropped 0.28 per cent to $39.04, Westpac slumped 0.45 per cent to $33.48 while ANZ finished in the red down 0.63 per cent to $30.13. Traders were cautious after US treasury secretary Scott Bessent informed the market the White House sent letters to its trading partners. But there were some mixed messages. Some White House staff said 12 letters were sent while others said 15, with nobody confirming who will receive a letter and what the new tariff rates will be. However, the White House said the revised levies would come into effect from August 1. IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said traders were taking profits waiting for the fallout from a busy macroeconomic week. 'Starting with the RBA, it would be a shock if they went against what the market is pricing in at this time and there would probably be an uproar if they didn't cut rates,' he told NewsWire. Mr Sycamore said tariff rates would likely rise from an average of 14 to around 19 per cent on the back of these letters sent to 12 to 15 countries. 'Mr Trump did mention 70 per cent for some countries, but we don't know until that letter arrives and we see the headlines so again it makes sense to see a little bit of profit taking,' he said. In company news, Origin Energy jumped 6.75 per cent to $11.55 after reports the company was mulling over a demerger. Origin Energy, which owns a minority stake in UK business Octopus Energy, is reportedly seeking a demerger of its technology arm. On the other side, Northern Star Resources slumped 8.7 per cent after reporting gold sales for the 2025 financial year came in at the lower end of its revised guidance. It also set a weaker than forecasted guidance for 2026.
Perth Now
8 hours ago
- Perth Now
ASX slips as cautious investors take profits
Cautious investors dragged the Australian sharemarket and dollar lower as they await the fallout from US President Donald Trump's tariff policy and whether or not the Reserve Bank will go through with its widely expected rate cut. The benchmark ASX 200 index slid 13.70 points or 0.16 per cent to finish Monday's trading at 8,589.30. The broader All Ordinaries also finished in the red down 15.50 points or 0.18 per cent to 8,826.40. The Australian dollar slumped 0.58 per cent and is now buying 65.10 US cents. It was a mixed day for markets with six of the 11 sectors finishing in the red, as the local bourse seesawed throughout the day's trading. The Australian sharemarket slipped as investors await key economic news. Picture NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard. Credit: News Corp Australia Utilities were the standout, led by Origin Energy which jumped 6.75 per cent to $11.55 while APA Group was up 0.36 per cent to $8.39 and Meridian Energy finished in the green up 2.22 per cent to $5.53. It was also a strong day for the healthcare sector with CSL jumping 2.15 per cent to $247.98 while Sigma Healthcare rose 0.33 per cent to $3.02 and Pro Medicus closed 0.68 per cent higher to $309.98. CBA shares slipped 0.11 per cent to $177.81, NAB dropped 0.28 per cent to $39.04, Westpac slumped 0.45 per cent to $33.48 while ANZ finished in the red down 0.63 per cent to $30.13. Traders were cautious after US treasury secretary Scott Bessent informed the market the White House sent letters to its trading partners. But there were some mixed messages. Some White House staff said 12 letters were sent while others said 15, with nobody confirming who will receive a letter and what the new tariff rates will be. Utilities was the standout sector. NewsWire / Jeremy Piper Credit: News Corp Australia However, the White House said the revised levies would come into effect from August 1. IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said traders were taking profits waiting for the fallout from a busy macroeconomic week. 'Starting with the RBA, it would be a shock if they went against what the market is pricing in at this time and there would probably be an uproar if they didn't cut rates,' he told NewsWire. Mr Sycamore said tariff rates would likely rise from an average of 14 to around 19 per cent on the back of these letters sent to 12 to 15 countries. 'Mr Trump did mention 70 per cent for some countries, but we don't know until that letter arrives and we see the headlines so again it makes sense to see a little bit of profit taking,' he said. In company news, Origin Energy jumped 6.75 per cent to $11.55 after reports the company was mulling over a demerger. Origin Energy, which owns a minority stake in UK business Octopus Energy, is reportedly seeking a demerger of its technology arm. On the other side, Northern Star Resources slumped 8.7 per cent after reporting gold sales for the 2025 financial year came in at the lower end of its revised guidance. It also set a weaker than forecasted guidance for 2026.
