The laggards

Industrials (up 0.3 per cent) was the weakest sector, with Qantas and Infratil shares both down 1.9 per cent.

Lifestyle Communities shares plunged 18.1 per cent after the ABC reported some retirees felt like they were trapped in a “financial prison” while living in some of the company’s planned communities. Bellevue Gold shares fell 4.9 per cent and Kelsian Group was down 3.4 per cent.

The lowdown

According to Judo Bank economists, the market rally can be attributed to last week’s weaker-than-expected US inflation data, signalling that the US Federal Reserve is on track to cut rates soon.

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Wall Street’s rally was again driven by the big names in artificial intelligence and technology.

“The Magnificent 7 – NVIDIA, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Apple, and Tesla – account for over 60 per cent of the year-to-date gains,” Wilsons Advisory analysts wrote in a research note to clients.

However, they noted that with high US earnings expectations, there is little room for disappointment. “With Q2 earnings season now under way, we need to see these strong earnings growth numbers delivered in order to sustain the current rally,” they state.

On Friday, the S&P 500 Index rose 0.5 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.6 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.6 per cent.

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Mixed signals on big US banks’ profits and inflation did little to dent Wall Street’s belief that easier interest rates are on the way.

Bank of New York Mellon shares climbed 5.2 per cent after the company reported better profit than analysts expected.

In the bond market, Treasury yields yo-yoed after the release of the latest update on inflation. It said prices rose more at the wholesale level last month than economists expected, which was a letdown after data on Thursday said inflation at the consumer level was better than expected.

But after a couple of initial swings, Treasury yields calmed and remained lower than they were late Thursday.

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Quote of the day

“The offer is modest and is made on an open basis. It is a compromise on what our client could be awarded at trial if she is successful, particularly having regard to any penalties that may be imposed.”

That’s a letter that Antoinette Lattouf’s legal team, led by Maurice Blackburn’s head of employment law, Josh Bornstein, wrote to the ABC last week offering a compromise settlement after mediation between the parties failed last month. Here’s what’s on Lattouf’s wish list.