U.S. Indexes closed firmer on Wednesday, with outperformance seen in the NASDAQ, as consumer discretionary and technology sectors led the gains. The majority of sectors were green, aside from energy and consumer staples. Energy gave back some of its recent gains while crude prices settled flat. Crude initially rallied overnight amid ongoing geopolitical tensions but ultimately pared with weakness seen on reports that Iran reached out to the CIA to discuss terms to end the conflict. However, this was later denied by Iran, while the US were sceptical of any willingness to off-ramp in the short term anyway. Tensions are still high amid reports from Kan that the Houthis are planning to attack vital targets inside Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia reportedly said it would retaliate if attacked. However, Saudi Arabia said direct intervention in Iran would have dramatic implications for oil prices, but if it escalates, then a reassessment may be necessary. Separate reports noted that if the US and Israel pursue regime change, all regional energy infrastructure will be targeted. Meanwhile, in response to the conflict Aluminium Bahrain and Qater Energy declared force majeure. Lastly, on the subject, Kurdish forces in Iraq have launched a ground military offensive into Iran against the regime, i24News reported. Aside from geopolitics, the focus was on US data and the Fed Beige Book. ADP and the ISM Services PMI beat expectations (more below). While the Fed’s Beige Book reported a slight-moderate increase in economic activity, stable employment levels, and modest price increases. In FX, antipodes rallied amid a positive risk tone with the Australian Dollar supported by strong GDP data and mixed China PMIs. Gold and Silver saw further gains. ISM Services headline jumped to 56.1 in February from 53.8, above the expected 53.5 and also outside the top end of the forecast range, its highest reading since August 2022. Encouragingly, employment rose to 51.8 from 50.3, while the inflationary gauge of prices paid declined to 63.0 from 66.6, and especially welcome after the Manufacturing prices component soared to a high since June 2022. Business activity improved to 59.9 from 57.4, and new orders jumped to 58.6 from 53.1. Regarding survey respondents, the ISM Chair remarked that commentary on trade uncertainty increased, with respondents commenting that tariff impacts have stabilised and are now embedded in supply chain costs. Although there were several comments on tariff uncertainty regarding the SCOTUS decision, there was no alarm regarding supply chain performance, suggesting that services Companies have developed capabilities to routinely address shifts in tariff policies. The February ADP report saw jobs rise by 63k, beating expectations of 50k and up from the prior 11k, which was downwardly revised from 22k. The 63k print is the highest since November 2025. The largest contributor was a 58k gain in education/health services, while professional/business services cut 30k jobs. Service-providing jobs accounted for 47k jobs on net, with the remaining 16k from the goods-producing industry. ADP Chief Economist Dr Richardson said that “We’ve seen an increase in hiring and pay gains remain solid, especially for job-stayers”. “But with hiring concentrated in only a few sectors, our data shows no widespread pay benefit from changing jobs. In fact, the pay premium for switching employers hit a record low in February.” Regarding pay, wages for job stayers rose 4.5%, unchanged from January, while it rose 6.3% for Job changers, down from 6.4% in January. Elsewhere, Oil closed higher by 1% and Gold by 0.7%.
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For anyone following my Platinum Service it made 300 points yesterday and is now ahead by 2301 points for March having closed February with a strong gain of 5482 points after ending January with a gain of 4757 points, having closed December with a gain of 2599 points, after ending the month of November with a gain of 4542 points, after ending October with a nice gain of 5110 points after closing September with a gain of 3774 points while ending August with a gain of 3362 points after closing July with a gain of 3753 points after closing June with a gain of 3530 points, having closed May with a gain of 3606 points, after closing April with a gain of 7685 points after closing March with a gain of 2254 points while closing February with a gain of 4180 points. January ended with a gain of 2768 points while 1997 points were gained in December. October ended with a gain of 2179 points, after closing September with a gain of 4402 points, following a loss of 301 points in August. July gained 1908 points while June saw a gain of 2074 points. The Platinum Service made a record 9619 points in October 2022. Since I started this New Platinum Service in June 2015 it has averaged a monthly gain of over 2300 points. I have a YouTube Channel which contains recent interviews I have given This can be viewed by clicking HERE Please subscribe to this for new interview notification
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