Trending On Livewire: Weekend Edition - Saturday 7th June

That was a bizarre week in markets. As my colleague Carl Capolingua wrote, the S&P / ASX 200 Total Return Index (XAOA) hit an all-time high. For the uninitiated, the XOAO measures performance on a total return basis, adding back in all the dividends paid along the way. It’s an impressive feat, particularly given the volatility in markets over the last four months.

The other, more bizarre event occurred on Thursday night/Friday morning our time, with Tesla shares slumping 14% after the world’s most unstable bromance – between Trump and Musk – inevitably disintegrated. The fallout threatens federal subsidies critical to the EV maker’s growth. Markets are not supposed to operate like this, and investors should not be at the mercy of a personal spat between two people who should know better.

The whole saga is a microcosm of a broader theme in markets right now, which sees sentiment and tweets driving market moves, as opposed to fundamentals and hard data, as encapsulated by Tom Stelzer in this wire.

In any event, we are where we are. The bulls are clinging to progress on trade talks, particularly between the US and China, expectations of rates cuts, and retail enthusiasm for buying the dip. The bears? Well, they are looking at the bulls and wondering why they keep buying amid so much uncertainty.

Have a great weekend.

Chris Conway, Managing Editor, Livewire Markets

We’re struggling to make sense of this rally. Can you?

VOTE NOW