Pre-Open Data
Key Data for the Week
- Thursday – EUR – ECB Interest Rate Decision – Rate remained unchanged as expected. The ECB pledged to ramp up government debt purchases in coming months to contain rising bond yields.
- Friday – EUR – Industrial Production
- Friday – UK – Gross Domestic Product
Australian Market
The Australian sharemarket closed flat yesterday, as early losses were regained in the afternoon. The Federal Government announced a $1.2 billion stimulus for the tourism industry, which includes 800,000 discounted airline tickets and loans for tourism operators. Flight Centre rallied 9.2% and Webjet added 3.8%, while Qantas and Sydney Airport rose 2.5% and 2.2% respectively.
The Financials sector weighed on the market, as the big four banks all weakened; ANZ lost 1.0% and NAB fell 0.5%, while Commonwealth Bank and Westpac both slipped 0.3%. Macquarie Group slipped 1.1%, while fund manager Australian Ethical Investment bucked the trend to rise 1.7%.
The Materials sector was flat as mining heavyweights were mixed; BHP lost 1.7%, while Rio Tinto added 1.1% and Fortescue Metals rose 2.2%. The Health Care sector was supported by CSL, up 0.7%, while Sonic Healthcare and Ramsay Health Care lost 0.2% and 0.5% respectively.
International education organisation IDP Education slumped 5.7% after 40% shareholder, Education Australia, revealed it will restructure its shareholding. The company announced it will distribute 25% to its 38 University shareholders, while divesting the remaining 15% on market by 11 December 2021.
The Australian futures market points to a 0.52% rise today, driven by stronger overseas markets overnight.
Overseas Markets
European sharemarkets rose on Thursday, with the broad based STOXX Europe 600 up 0.5%. Renewable energy companies Siemens Gamesa and Vestas Wind Systems added 4.9% and 3.6% respectively, while meal kit provider HelloFresh lifted 6.1%.
US sharemarkets also closed higher overnight, as the Information Technology, Communication Services and Consumer Discretionary sectors rebounded following recent weakness. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft all rose between 1.7% and 2.9%, while NVIDIA and Spotify climbed 4.2% and 6.2% respectively. Cybersecurity companies Crowdstrike and Fortinet gained 3.9% and 5.6% respectively, while cloud computing services provider Compugen lifted 9.4%. Renewable energy companies rallied following recent weakness; Enphase Energy added 8.5% and Solar Edge rose 5.6%. The REITs sector also outperformed; American Tower, Equinix and Prologis all gained between 1.9% and 4.6%.
By the close of trade, the Dow Jones rose 0.6%, the S&P 500 added 1.0% and the NASDAQ lifted 2.5%.
CNIS Perspective
Founded in 1766, Christie’s has become the first major auction house to sell a purely digital artwork tied to a ‘non-fungible token’ (NFT) for a record US$69.3 million. ‘Everydays: The First 5,000 Days’ by Beeple, a 41-year-old illustrator from Wisconsin, is also the first time the centuries-old auction house agreed to accept payment in Ethereum, a popular cryptocurrency.
NFTs are digital tokens on the Ethereum blockchain, which allow art and other digital assets and collectibles to be verified as unique, hence the term non-fungible. They reflect the properties of crypto and blockchains more broadly, such as the ability to track provenance and attribute funds to creators via smart contracts.
The collage of 5,000 images the artist made over as many days is the third-most expensive work from a living artist ever sold at auction, behind only David Hockney’s painting in 2018 that sold for $90.3 million and the $91.1 million paid for Jeff Koons’ stainless-steel Rabbit sculpture in 2019.
The acceptance of digital artwork, the method of digital payment via a cryptocurrency and the incorporation of the decentralised ledger via the blockchain as record of ownership are being formally embraced by the traditional art world. This transaction in such an enormous sum is a lot to digest for all types of institutions considering their digital strategies.
Should you wish to discuss this or any other investment related matter, please contact your Investment Services Team on (02) 4928 8500.
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