Higher US JOLTS Signals Good Economy but Stokes Inflation Fears. ASX Materials Gained on US Nuclear Expansion Deal
Paper Mandate Market & Portfolio Commentary | 03 June 2026
Fund Status:
Bal Start: $1,169,211
Bought None
Sold: None
Bal End: $1,155,575
Cash: $143,012
Overnight Markets
Global market indices finished higher on their respective closes. Gold (+0.11%) and oil (+1.30%) prices were also higher on close. Small caps stock led the rally with the Russell 2000 +0.90%, and all but four sectors posted gains. Utilities (+1.93%) and Materials (+1.16%) outperforming the rest. SpaceX IPO is expected to make many staff millionaires. Many have engaged with wealth management firms for better pricing for services. Interestingly, Chinese lab-grown diamonds are apparently beneficiaries of the AI boom. Diamonds are great heat conductors, making them good for cooling semiconductors. US JOLTS (Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey), increased by 731,000 to 7.62m vs 6.88m consensus. This means the number of unfilled jobs is greater than the workers available to fill them. Could be a leading indicator of inflationary fears. The Fed is unlikely to cut rates as a result.
Australian Market
ASX futures were up this morning, after a strong US session. The ASX 200 did indeed end the day up on the back of Materials and Energy sectors performance well ahead of the other sectors. Uranium stocks also rallied higher following news out of the US that the administration has committed to a multi-billion dollar nuclear energy deal. Technology as a sector was the weakest, falling -0.76%. As the portfolio is vastly overweight Technology, compared to the benchmark, our performance suffered today.
Portfolio Commentary
360 provided an update to the Evercore TMT Conference. Advertising revenue is expected to double and MAU (monthly active users) trending back on their target growth. The stock fell -2.2% today. MP1 announces a $827m capital raise to fund an AI infra build. It is offering $14.30 per unit, a 13.9% discount. The stock price is still under a trading halt. We will have to wait for the market response. WTC also dipped -2.1% while XRO had an even steeper -3.5% hit. Retail stocks bore the brunt of the session, with Lovisa falling dumping -7.0%, driven by the wage hike yesterday. JB Hi-Fi also slid -3.0%. Conversely, engineering champion SRG Global offered some green shoots, climbing +2.5% to extend its momentum from yesterday. HMC added +1.4% and Coles added +1.1%
Investment Activity
None.
Disclaimer: This is a paper portfolio. Content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research.