- \n
- Wall Street ends higher<\/strong> despite early jitters from Moody\u2019s US credit rating downgrade<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- RBA expected to cut rates by 25 basis points<\/strong> at 2:30 pm AEST, taking the cash rate to 3.85%<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Fed officials hint at delayed rate cuts<\/strong>, as economic uncertainties linger<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Index<\/th> Value<\/th> Change<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> S&P 500<\/td> 5,964<\/td> +0.09%<\/td><\/tr> Dow Jones<\/td> 42,792<\/td> +0.32%<\/td><\/tr> Nasdaq<\/td> 19,215<\/td> +0.02%<\/td><\/tr> Russell 2000<\/td> 2,104<\/td> -0.42%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Overnight Summary<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
US markets rebounded strongly after an early selloff triggered by Moody\u2019s downgrade of the US credit rating. The S&P 500 clawed back losses to close slightly higher (+0.09%) for its sixth straight gain, now up 23% from its April low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Dow Jones<\/strong> rose 0.32% and the NASDAQ<\/strong> edged up 0.02%, while the Russell 2000<\/strong> lagged, down 0.42%. Most major sectors finished in the green, led by Health Care (+0.96%)<\/strong> and Consumer Staples (+0.42%)<\/strong>, while Energy (-1.55%)<\/strong> underperformed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key Global Moves:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- US 10-Year Treasury Yield<\/strong>: Up 0.77% to 4.475%<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Gold<\/strong>: +0.11% to US$3,233.50<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Oil (WTI)<\/strong>: +0.32% to US$62.69<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Bitcoin<\/strong>: +1.20% to US$105,423<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- VIX (Volatility Index)<\/strong>: +5.22% to 18.14<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- AUD\/USD<\/strong>: Rallies 0.87% to 0.6457<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Credit Downgrade \u2013 Market Reaction Muted<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Despite the downgrade of the US credit rating to AA+ by Moody\u2019s \u2014 following similar moves by S&P (2011) and Fitch (2023) \u2014 markets took the news in stride. Equities stabilized, bond yields rose modestly, and gold gave back early gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Goldman Sachs noted that US equities saw the largest net buying since December 2021<\/strong>, driven mainly by short covering. Meanwhile, Bank of America says the downgrade isn\u2019t expected to trigger forced selling but could worsen Treasury sentiment amid growing fiscal deficit concerns (estimated to hit 7% of GDP by FY26-27).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Central Banks in Focus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Markets are watching the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)<\/strong> closely today, with a widely expected 25 bps rate cut<\/strong> set to bring the cash rate down to 3.85%<\/strong>. The decision is due at 2:30 pm AEST<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the US, Fed officials are signaling patience. NY Fed\u2019s John Williams said clarity on the economic outlook may not come until July<\/strong>, while Atlanta Fed\u2019s Raphael Bostic sees just one rate cut in 2025<\/strong>, likely in the September\u2013December window<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Global Markets Snapshot<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Index<\/th> Value<\/th> Change<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> S&P 500<\/td> 5,964<\/td> +0.09%<\/td><\/tr> Dow Jones<\/td> 42,792<\/td> +0.32%<\/td><\/tr> NASDAQ<\/td> 19,215<\/td> +0.02%<\/td><\/tr> Canada<\/td> 25,972<\/td> +0.29%<\/td><\/tr> Germany<\/td> 23,935<\/td> +0.70%<\/td><\/tr> UK<\/td> 8,699<\/td> +0.17%<\/td><\/tr> Japan<\/td> 37,499<\/td> -0.68%<\/td><\/tr> India<\/td> 82,059<\/td> -0.33%<\/td><\/tr> Hong Kong<\/td> 23,333<\/td> -0.05%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"The](\"https:\/\/villpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/The-Australian-share-market-is-expected-to-open-higher-this-morning-1024x490.jpeg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStocks & Sector Watch<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Notable Announcements:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Microsoft<\/strong> to integrate Elon Musk\u2019s Grok AI<\/strong> into its cloud offering<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Regeneron<\/strong> to acquire bankrupt 23andMe<\/strong> for $256 million<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Xiaomi<\/strong> unveils plans for 3nm chips<\/strong>, pledging $7B over 10 years for chip development<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Nvidia<\/strong> to ramp up investments in Taiwan<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
US Sectors (Top Performers):<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Health Care +0.96%<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Consumer Staples +0.42%<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Industrials +0.38%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Laggards:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Energy -1.55%<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Consumer Discretionary -0.27%<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Info Tech -0.05%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
ASX Today<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The local market is poised to bounce after global markets shook off credit rating worries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key Corporate News:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Atlas Arteria<\/strong>: IFM\u2019s stake increases to 32.58% from 29.88%<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Rio Tinto<\/strong>: Partners with Chile\u2019s Codelco<\/strong> on lithium, investing $350m<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Technology One (TNE)<\/strong>: Set to report H1 earnings today \u2013 Goldman expects ARR growth of 19% to $504m, revenue up 14% to $278m, and PBT up 24% to $76m<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Broker Moves<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Fisher & Paykel<\/strong>: Downgraded to Neutral<\/em> (from Buy); target raised to NZ$39 (UBS)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Paragon Care<\/strong>: Upgraded to Buy<\/em> (from Hold); target remains $0.52 (BP)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nEconomic Calendar (AEST)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- 2:30 pm<\/strong> \u2013 RBA Interest Rate Decision<\/strong> (expected 25 bps cut)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 10:30 pm<\/strong> \u2013 Canada Inflation Data (April)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Dividend Watch<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Trading Ex-Dividend:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Tue 20 May<\/strong>: Sandon Capital Investments (SNC) \u2013 $0.014<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Wed 21 May<\/strong>: Amcor (AMC) \u2013 $0.20<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Thu 22 May<\/strong>: Aristocrat Leisure (ALL) \u2013 $0.44, Orica (ORI) \u2013 $0.25<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Dividends Paid:<\/strong> Saferoads (SRH)
Earnings Reports:<\/strong> James Hardie (JHX), Technology One (TNE)
AGMs:<\/strong> Viva Energy (VEA)<\/p>\n\n\n\nFinal Thought<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
With the ASX 200 set for a strong start and the RBA expected to ease monetary policy, attention will turn to how local equities respond to a shifting rate environment. Meanwhile, Wall Street\u2019s resilience suggests investors are more focused on earnings and policy outlooks than ratings agencies \u2014 at least for now.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Australian share market is expected to open higher this morning, with ASX 200 futures up 73 points or 0.87%. Markets globally are showing resilience, brushing off concerns about the US credit rating downgrade, as investors eye key central bank moves and earnings releases. In a nutshell: Index Value Change S&P 500 5,964 +0.09% Dow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[213],"tags":[345],"ppma_author":[331],"class_list":{"0":"post-5369","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-market-news","8":"tag-asx"},"authors":[{"term_id":331,"user_id":1,"is_guest":0,"slug":"pastakutmanwen","display_name":"Villpress Insider","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Logo.png","url2x":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Logo.png"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5369"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5374,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5369\/revisions\/5374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5369"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=5369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Wed 21 May<\/strong>: Amcor (AMC) \u2013 $0.20<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 10:30 pm<\/strong> \u2013 Canada Inflation Data (April)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Paragon Care<\/strong>: Upgraded to Buy<\/em> (from Hold); target remains $0.52 (BP)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Rio Tinto<\/strong>: Partners with Chile\u2019s Codelco<\/strong> on lithium, investing $350m<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Atlas Arteria<\/strong>: IFM\u2019s stake increases to 32.58% from 29.88%<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Regeneron<\/strong> to acquire bankrupt 23andMe<\/strong> for $256 million<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Gold<\/strong>: +0.11% to US$3,233.50<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- RBA expected to cut rates by 25 basis points<\/strong> at 2:30 pm AEST, taking the cash rate to 3.85%<\/li>\n\n\n\n