US markets extended their winning streak to a fourth session, buoyed by easing trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. The S&P 500 rose 0.41% to 5,916.93, while the Dow gained 0.65% to 42,322.75. The Nasdaq, however, dipped 0.18% as AI-related stocks came under pressure following Meta’s decision to delay its new “Behemoth” AI model. Despite Thursday’s retreat, the tech-heavy index remains up 6.6% for the week, outpacing the S&P 500’s 4.5% gain and the Dow’s 2.6% rise.
Adding a note of caution, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned of a potential era of persistent supply shocks, suggesting higher real interest rates may become a structural feature of the economy. Meanwhile in Europe, TikTok faces formal charges under the Digital Services Act for opaque advertising practices, with parent company ByteDance at risk of hefty fines. Oil prices dropped over 2% as prospects for a new US-Iran nuclear deal gathered pace, raising the likelihood of increased Iranian supply. The Australian dollar is trading at 64.02 US cents, and SPI futures point to an 80-point gain at the local open.
Fletcher Building has announced a major divisional restructuring as part of its ongoing strategic review. The Australian Division will be disbanded and its operations integrated into two new trans-Tasman divisions: Light Building Products, led by Hamish McBeath, and Heavy Building Materials, led by Thornton Williams. This move results in the departure of Gareth O’Reilly, former Chief Executive of the Australian Division. The restructure is expected to deliver around NZ$15m in annualised structural cost savings, adding to the NZ$200m already targeted for FY25. CEO Andrew Reding emphasised a shift towards a decentralised model that empowers business units with accountability and operational autonomy, supported by a leaner corporate centre. Despite subdued market conditions, Fletcher Building aims to increase agility and performance through this transformation, with further updates expected at its Investor Day on 24 June
Monadelphous has secured approximately $180m in new construction and maintenance contracts across the resources, energy, and infrastructure sectors. Key wins include a five-year master agreement with Rio Tinto for structural integrity works at Cape Lambert, a contract with Fortescue to upgrade its Rolling Stock Maintenance Workshop in Port Hedland, and a major hook-up and commissioning project for Woodside Energy’s offshore Scarborough gas facility. Additionally, its civil subsidiary Melchor won a multidisciplinary construction contract at Geraldton Port. These wins reflect Monadelphous’ strong market positioning in Western Australia and reinforce its presence in key sectors like iron ore and LNG development
At Appen Limited’s 2025 AGM, Chair Richard Freudenstein and CEO Ryan Kolln will outline the company’s turnaround following the termination of its Google contract. Appen returned to profitability in 2024 with US$3.5m in underlying EBITDA before FX, a US$23.9m improvement from the prior year, despite a 14% drop in total revenue to US$234.3m. Excluding Google, revenue rose 16% for the year and 36% in H2, driven by strong growth in generative AI services, which comprised 28% of H2 revenue. The China division grew 71%, and Global Product revenue more than tripled as customers increasingly adopted Appen’s proprietary ADAP data platform. Appen also cut costs by US$13.5m in 2024, completing a broader two-year reset. CEO Kolln highlighted a renewed focus on AI-powered operational automation, expert-led sales, and scalable technology platforms like Mercury, ADAP, and CrowdGen. Appen is guiding for FY25 revenue of US$235–260m with positive underlying EBITDA and targets a 20% CAGR and ~10% EBITDA margin by FY27. The board endorsed the renewal of proportional takeover provisions and proposed a long-term incentive grant for Kolln aligned to performance targets.
