Global markets rallied overnight, as Wall Street indexes edged higher to records after Federal Reserve chair nominee Jerome Powell's comments on interest rate hikes and deregulation fired up financial stocks.
Banking heavyweights JP Morgan and Bank of America led the charge as Powell, in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, positioned himself as an heir to the central bank policies of current chair Janet Yellen. Powell also defended the need to potentially lighten regulation on the financial sector. All else equal, banks benefit from higher interest rates as lending margins improve, and clearly de-regulation would be another boost to the sector going forward.
Stock in Focus: BHP Billiton (BHP:AX)
Mining giant BHP released an update on unit costs at its Australian mines and copper prices yest...
Stock Markets, Simplified.