The ASX to extend gains today after another rally on Wall Street
\nGlobal stocks, bonds and commodities also gain in broad rally\u00a0
\nLithium producer Allkem has signed the Kapisikama agreement<\/p>\n
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\u2018Tis the season for a market rally, fa la la la la, la laaa, la laaa<\/em>.<\/p>\n The S&P ASX has continued its strong end of year surge to close 0.88% up on Friday, setting a new daily high of 7442.70 points, and finishing the week up 3.76%.<\/p>\n The local bourse followed gains in global stocks, bonds and commodities.\u00a0 On Wall Street gains overnight the S&P 500 had a 0.43% increase, the Dow Jones index, dominated by established companies, surged by 1.25%, and the technology-driven Nasdaq rose by 0.19%.<\/p>\n Stocks that are sensitive to changes in interest rates saw another surge due to a prevailing wave of optimism about potential multiple rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve in the upcoming year.<\/p>\n US bonds also rallied (yields falling) with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield dropping by 12bp to settle at 3.92%.<\/p>\n Traders were additionally encouraged by the US November retail sales data, which showed a 0.3% increase as American consumers increased spending, marking the beginning of the holiday shopping season.<\/p>\n Oil prices\u00a0 are also up, driven by a declining dollar and the International Energy Agency (IEA) raising its projection for oil demand in 2024.\u00a0 At the time of writing the Brent crude benchmark was up 0.57% to US$77.04 barrel, while WTI benchmark\u00a0had risen 0.53% to US$72.01\/barrel.<\/p>\n In its monthly report, the Paris-based IEA projected<\/a> a 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) increase in global oil consumption in 2024, marking a 130,000 bpd uptick from its earlier forecast.<\/p>\n The adjustment was attributed to a more optimistic outlook for the US along with reduced oil prices.<\/p>\n On the ASX miners led the bourse higher today with all eight of the 11 sectors up, while real estate led the laggards.<\/p>\n Vanguard today published its annual market and economic outlook, highlighting the main themes that will impact global markets and economies in 2024 and beyond.<\/p>\n The investment powerhouse foresees a structural shift that will endure beyond the next business cycle, setting a positive scene for long-term and well diversified investors.<\/p>\n \u201cVanguard has heralded the return to sound money\u2019for a while now, with signs signalling the beginning of a \u2018higher interest rates for longer\u2019 era and the unlikely return to zero rates,\u201d Vanguard Australia\u2019s Senior Economist Alexis Gray says.<\/p>\n \u201cBut investors should expect heightened volatility in the financial markets over the near term as the financial markets continue to adjust to this new reality.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile near term volatility in the markets will no doubt worry investors, we believe this structural shift is a reason for optimism and will benefit investors and financial markets in the longer term.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.<\/em><\/p>\n WordPress Tables Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Construction group Adbri (ASX:ABC)<\/strong><\/a> lifted after announcing it had lifted earnings guidance<\/a> for the full year with H2 demand for its products across key markets continuing to be strong<\/p>\n Full year underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) are now forecast to be between $310 million and $315 million, which the company says is \u201cmoderately exceeding\u201d the outlook provided at the half-year results in August.<\/p>\n Lithium producer Allkem (ASX:AKE) <\/strong><\/a>has signed the Kapisikama Agreement, an Impact and Benefit Agreement (IBA) with the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee), the Cree Nation Government and the Cree Nation of Eastmain in relation to the development and operation of its James Bay Lithium Project in Canada.<\/p>\n AKE also announced existing international financing corporation (IFC) project financing has been supplemented by an additional US$50 million with IDB Invest for the company\u2019s Sal de Vida Project in Argentina.<\/p>\n Construction materials, equipment and service provider MAAS Group Holdings (ASX:MGH)<\/strong><\/a> board has approved extension of the current on-market share buy-back of up to 10% of MGH\u2019s issued ordinarys hare capital for a further12 months.<\/p>\n MGH says the extension of the Share Buyback program supports its goal to increase sustainable return on equity benefits for its shareholders and reflects the board\u2019s belief in the performance of the business and its strong capital position.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.<\/em><\/p>\n WordPress Tables Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Dexus (ASX:DXS)<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 says 173 of its 1761 assets, comprising 33 office properties and 140 industrial properties have been externally valued as at December\u00a0 31, 2023.<\/p>\n DXS says the draft external independent valuations resulting in a total estimated decrease of ~$762.4 million or 5.2% on prior book values for the six months to December 31.<\/p>\n \u201cThe value of the office portfolio decreased circa 6.0% on prior book values driven by higher capitalisation rates and discount rates, partially offset by market rental growth,\u201d CEO Darren Steinberg says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe industrial portfolio decreased circa 2.1% on prior book values, with strong rental growth again largely offsetting the impact of higher capitalisation rates and discount rates.\u201d<\/p>\n Iluka Resources (ASX:ILU)<\/strong><\/a> says the cost of building Western Australia\u2019s Eneabba rare earths refinery is now expected to be between $1.3 billion and $1.6 billion, with market consensus having the capital cost range for the project at an average of $1.5 billion.<\/p>\n ILU says front end engineering and design (FEED) undertaken to date indicates the capital cost may be up to 20% above that average.<\/p>\n FEED was expected to be completed by the end of 2023 but ILU says finalisation is now expected in Q1 2024 and preliminary FEED materials indicate commissioning of the refinery scheduled to be pushed back to 2026.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post ASX Large Caps: New daily high in Santa rally as lithium producer Allkem signs Kapisikama deal<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BIG CAP WINNERS<\/h2>\n
BIG CAP LOSERS<\/h2>\n