‘Encouraging': Earnings numbers push US markets to record highs
'The best levels of the day, we had the S&P 500 up by about two-thirds of a per cent,' he told Sky News Australia.
'But in both cases, the S&P and the Nasdaq hit record highs, so that's encouraging.'
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Perth Now
7 hours ago
- Perth Now
Australian shares fall as volatility tipped to continue
The Australian bourse has moved lower despite tech industries spurring the US market to modest overnight gains. Near noon on Friday the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 44.9 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 8,665.5, while the broader All Ordinaries had dipped by 44.5 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 8,934.5. Overseas, the US market lifted after Google's parent company Alphabet spurred the technology sector, securing a $1.5 billion deal with software firm ServiceNow. Tesla shares fell 8.2 per cent after its profit report disappointed, while US President Donald Trump denied on social media that he was seeking to destroy Elon Musk's companies. In Australia, nine of the ASX's 11 sectors were down near midday, lifted only by energy climbing 1.17 per cent and with health care almost flat at 0.04 per cent. With a few hours of trading left, the ASX200 was on track to fall 1.1 per cent for the week after breaking records multiple times the previous week. Volatility in the local market looks set to persist as traders eye upcoming inflation data, and the local earnings season, Moomoo dealing manager Paco Chow said. "Macro swings and stock-specific shocks are driving sharp moves across the region," he said on Friday. "Heading into today's session, expect Asia to take its cues from Tesla's drama, US tech euphoria, and fresh energy headlines, such as China's mega dam plans." The big four banks continued losing ground with CBA dropping 1.12 per cent, NAB shedding 1.21 per cent, Westpac down 1.29 per cent and ANZ losing 0.92 per cent. For the week the financial sector was on pace to drop 4.2 per cent, which would be its worst week since a 4.6 per cent loss in early March. Miners also disappointed with BHP losing 1.71 per cent, Fortescue dropping 3.05 per cent and Rio Tinto subtracting 1.28 per cent. Goldminers slipped with the exception of producer Newmont, which rose 3.17 per cent after reporting a quarterly adjusted net income of more than $2.4 billion. Energy was in the green after Woodside rose 2.45 per cent and Santos edged 0.5 per cent higher. KMD Brands rose 6.52 per cent after Qantas executive Carla Webb-Sear was appointed the Kathmandu and Rip Curl parent company's chief financial officer. The Australian dollar was buying 65.83 US cents, from 66.16 US cents about 5pm on Thursday.
Sky News AU
8 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Ex-top security official Mike Pezzullo warns Australia must brace for potential conflict with China within two years as AUKUS planning intensifies
Australia must prepare for the real possibility of war with China within the next two years, former Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo has warned, calling the chances of conflict in the Indo-Pacific region a '10 to 20 per cent' risk. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Sky News Australia, Pezzullo laid out a sobering assessment of Australia's strategic position, saying the country's current three-pronged approach to foreign policy - balancing trade with China, security ties with the US, and regional independence - is a 'calculated risk' that may not hold. 'I think the government's approach is to take a calculated risk that two of those tracks won't collide,' he told Sky News. 'So, you can keep trading with China, you can gain prosperity, and you can keep your security relationship with the Americans going. As long as those two tracks don't collide, I think there is balance in our policy approach. 'But the problem is, as we've often talked about, it's fine until it's not.' According to Pezzullo, the so-called 'collision' between trade and security policy could unfold in two main ways. 'I think they collide in one of two ways,' he said. 'One way is if that planning and that preparation for collective defence irritates China or draws a negative response. 'And the other way, obviously, is if there's a preparatory phase in a crisis leading to a potential conflict, which is, I think, in the realm of a 10 to 20 per cent chance over the next few years.' This comes following the news that over 30,000 military personnel from 19 nations are participating in Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, the largest-ever joint military drills held across Australia, focusing on multi-domain operations including land, sea, air, space, and cyber warfare. Exercise Talisman Sabre is conducted across a number of locations across Australia and offshore, using both Defence and non-Defence training areas. These locations provide a realistic rehearsal of how a large military force would flow into a broad area of operations. Pezzullo's comments come amid an ongoing AUKUS review and rising scrutiny of Australia's submarine programme and broader defence planning. He pointed to the US Defence Department's increasing focus on contingency planning and strategic alignment as a sign that Washington is preparing for a scenario where diplomacy fails. 'If that doesn't work and it comes to a clash, we need to have done the preparatory work, the collective security work, the contingency planning to get ready for. If you like - Plan B,' he said. 'The main way in which you deter conflict is to convince the other party that if it comes to a fight, you will prevail.' Pezzullo argued the current US-led AUKUS review is 'very targeted, very deliberate' and not the routine policy reassessment that some in government have claimed. In his most direct remarks, Pezzullo warned that President Xi Jinping's long-stated goal of 'reunifying' Taiwan with mainland China remains the central driver of potential conflict. 'I think we just have to take President Xi at his word. He's determined. The reunification of Taiwan back into China is his number one strategic priority,' he said. 'It is a hangover from what he considers to be the century of humiliation, when China was humiliated by imperial powers, and Taiwan, one way or another, is coming back.' Pezzullo outlined scenarios that could escalate into open conflict, ranging from political coercion to a blockade or even a full-scale invasion. But the true test, he said, will be how the United States responds. 'Will America fight?' he asked. 'Now, if America doesn't fight and Taiwan is reclaimed through an invasion, a broader Pacific war is then avoided.' But that uncertainty, particularly under the second Trump administration, leaves Australia in a precarious position. 'That's actually the most important question in Australian foreign and strategic policy at the moment; what would the Americans do?' Pezzullo said. 'Not because we're going to follow them blindly, we'll make our own choices, but that is the big variable. We know what President Xi is likely to do. What we need to know is what is President Trump and his administration likely to do.'
Sky News AU
9 hours ago
- Sky News AU
ASX 200 sinks after Tesla nosedives more than eight per cent in one day, Elon Musk warns of 'few rough quarters' ahead
The ASX 200 has dipped on Friday following a mixed performance on Wall Street where Elon Musk's Tesla crashed more than eight per cent in one day. The index is down 0.5 per cent in the first 30 minutes of trading after falling 0.3 per cent on Thursday. Eight out of 11 sectors are in the red with Champion Energy slumping 4.5 per cent, Clarity Pharmaceuticals shedding 2.8 per cent and Autobarn-owner Bapcor down 2.5 per cent after suffering a $500m wipeout on Thursday. Fortescue has dived 2.4 per cent after jumping 4.5 per cent on Thursday when it revealed a boost in iron ore shipments. Tesla's nosedive follows the electric car maker reporting a 12 per cent drop in revenue, leading Musk to forecast a poor performance in the near-term future. "We probably could have a few rough quarters," Mr Musk said after the release of Tesla's results. "I'm not saying we will, but we could — you know, Q4, Q1, maybe Q2. "But once you get to autonomy at scale in the second half of next year, certainly by the end of next year, I think I'd be surprised if Tesla's economics are not very compelling." The Dow Jones shed 0.7 per cent while the S&P 500 rose 0.1 per cent and the Nasdaq added 0.2 per cent on Thursday. London's FTSE 250 added 0.6 per cent as Germany's DAX and the STOXX Europe 600 both jumped 0.2 per cent. New Zealand's NZX 50 continues to hover around its opening price on Friday while Japan's Nikkei 225 is down 0.3 per cent. The Japanese bourse's slump follows a surge of more than five per cent over the past two days after Donald Trump revealed a trade deal with the nation.
