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Welcome to Equity Espresso’s Daily Market Recap.

The Australian share market rose on Friday, making it six positive sessions in seven, with the ASX 200 index adding 27.4 pts. or 0.36% to 7,749.0, led by a sharp rise in the Energy sector. The main index made it three positive weeks on the trot, climbing by 1.6%

Brent Crude futures rose to over US$84.00/bbl during Friday’s session, helping Energy (+1.87%) stocks rally. Beach Energy (+4.00%) was one of the big movers, followed by Woodisde Energy (+1.89%) and Santos (+2.08%).

Gold prices continued their rally overnight, climbing to above US$2,300. St.Barbara (+14.58%) shares jumped after the company provided a 10-year outlook at its Simberi Mine in Papua New Guinea. Average annual gold production is expected to rise from 70 - 75 k/oz in FY25 to FY27 to 230 k/oz through FY24. Gold Road Resources (+3.87%) grew, as did Evolution Mining (+1.32%) and Emerald Resources (+3.55%).

In company news:

• Helia Group (+5.95%) was one of the positive movers on the ASX All Ordinaries after announcing a $100 million share buy-back.

• Kingsgate Consolidated's (+12.98%) shares jumped after it announced that the Department of Primary Industries and Mines had permitted Plant 1 at the Chatree Gold mine to operate.

• QBE Insurance Group (+0.11%) reported a 7.3% increase in group-wide renewal rates, with an 11.0% rise in the Australian/Pacific region.

• Suncorp Group (-0.67%) fell marginally after reporting a $85 million increase in past-due loans to $510 million during the March quarter.

Wall Street

U.S. stocks rose higher on Thursday, led by a lift in the Dow Jones (+0.58%), which recorded its seventh consecutive day of gains after weekly jobless claims came in higher than expected, boosting the case for interest-rate cuts. The S&P 500 (+0.51%) and NASDAQ (+0.27%) also finished the session higher.

Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors rose, led by a 2.3% rise in the real estate sector, followed by Utilities (+1.52%) and Energy (+1.36%), while Technology (-0.25%) was the sole sector to finish in the red.

In company news, Airbnb's (-6.87%) stock tumbled after it issued weaker-than-expected revenue guidance of between $2.68 billion and $2.74 billion for the coming quarter. The forecast fell short of analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. Planet Fitness (+5.61%) stock popped after it reported adjusted earnings of 53 cents per share, ahead of analyst’s estimates of 50 cents per share.

S&P500 Sector Performance

Economic Data

• U.K. GDP grew by 0.6% during the first quarter of 2024, above forecasts of 0.4%, ending the recession it entered into last year. The increase was the largest expansion in over two years, with the service sector rising 0.7%.

• U.S. Initial Jobless Claims rose by 22,000 to 231,000 during the week ending May 4, well above expectations of 210,000, which was the highest mark since August 2023.

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Quick Singles

🌎️ Around The Globe

• FTX customers could potentially receive the total amount of money lost if a court approves the company's bankruptcy plan. FTX has managed to recover enough assets to pay the majority of its creditors in full, however, customers will not receive any gains on their holdings of Bitcoin and other digital assets.

• Microsoft is investing $3.3 billion in an Artificial Intelligence data centre based in Wisconsin. The new centre aims to create 2,300 union construction jobs and 2,000 permanent jobs over time.

• Streaming Bundle - Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up to bundle their streaming services, offering customers Disney+, Hulu and Max as one service. Pricing for the service has yet to be disclosed.

• Neuralink’s first attempt at a brain implant suffered a setback when the device detached from the patient’s brain.

• Google's Deepmind announced the third version of its AlphaFold AI model, which could aid in designing drugs and targeting diseases more effectively for medical research.

• SoftBank Group is reportedly in talks to acquire Graphcore Ltd., a British semiconductor startup once valued at $2.8 billion.

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The Last Word

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