The ASX looks set to open higher this morning following gains in the US overnight. The ASX SPI 200 Futures are trading up 27 points, or 0.35%, to 7,725.
The ABS is due to release March quarter inflation data at 11.30am AEST. It is expected to show a further cooling in consumer prices to 3.4%, down from 4.1% in the December quarter. Annual CPI inflation peaked at 7.8% in December 2022.
CBA economists are estimating a 0.7% increase – more than the 0.6% increase seen in the December quarter.
Bloomberg economists expect prices to rise 0.8% in the quarter, which would mean consumer prices are sticky but inching closer to the Reserve Bank's 2%-3% target band and pushing the case for rate cuts.
What happened overnight?
(Source Commsec):
US markets
US sharemarkets rose on Tuesday, as a strong batch of corporate earnings assuaged concerns over higher interest rates.
- The Dow Jones index rose by 264 points or 0.7%.
- The S&P 500 index gained 1.2%.
- The Nasdaq index added 245 points or 1.6%.
General Motors (NYSE:GM) gained 4.4% after the automaker's better-than-expected quarterly results. Spotify surged 11.4% after the Swedish music streaming giant posted gross profit above time.
A bullish full-year profit forecast helped to lift GE Aerospace shares by 8.3%. UPS gained 2.4% after the delivery giant posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
Globe Life jumped 14.1% after the insurance company raised its operating earnings per share forecast for the full year. Danaher (NYSE:DHR) gained 7.2% after the life sciences firm beat quarterly profit and sales expectations.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) reported earnings after the closing bell. The EV giant said it will accelerate the launch of more affordable models after reporting worse-than-expected profit.
European markets
European sharemarkets closed higher Tuesday, with most sectors trading in the green, as investors eyed solid eurozone business activity data and the potential for interest rate cuts.
- The continent-wide FTSEurofirst 300 index gained 1.1%, logging its best day in six weeks.
- In London, the UK FTSE 100 index lifted 0.3% to a fresh record high.
Technology stocks rose 2.5%. HCOB's preliminary composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the eurozone, compiled by S&P Global, bounced to 51.4 in April from March's 50.3 (survey: 50.7).
Currencies
Currencies were stronger against the US dollar in European and US trade.
- The Euro rose from US$1.0637 to US$1.0709 and was near US$1.0700 at the US close.
- The Aussie dollar lifted from US64.40 cents to US64.89 cents and was near US64.85 cents at the US close.
- The Japanese yen firmed from 154.86 yen per US dollar to JPY154.58 and was near JPY154.80 at the US close.
Commodities
Global oil prices rose over a dollar a barrel on Tuesday as the US dollar dipped and as oil investors shifted their focus away from geopolitical issues in the Middle East to the state of the global economy.
- The Brent crude price rose by US$1.42 or 1.6% to US$88.42 a barrel.
- The US Nymex crude price climbed US$1.46 or 1.8% to US$83.36 a barrel.
Base metal prices retreated on Tuesday.
- Copper futures slid 0.2% on profit-taking by funds and hedging by producers after the market hit a two-year high.
- Aluminium futures dropped 3.3%.
The gold futures price fell by US$4.30 or 0.2% to US$2,342.10 an ounce on Tuesday. Spot gold was trading near US$2,321 an ounce at the US close.
Iron ore futures rose by US14 cents or 0.1% to US$108.76 a tonne.
What’s on?
In Australia, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is released today. Atlas Arteria, Beach Energy (ASX:BPT), Fortescue (ASX:FMG), Insignia Financial, Lynas Rare Earths, Mineral Resources, Perseus Mining, PointsBet, Red 5 and Regis Resources all release quarterly sales results. Woodside Energy and Latitude host AGMs.
On the small cap front
The S&P ASX Small Ordinaries gained 0.45% yesterday, while the ASX 200 fell 0.05%.
You can read more about the following throughout the day.
- Mako Gold Ltd (ASX:MKG) has discovered a new high-grade gold zone (Central Zone) at Tchaga North on the Napié Project in Côte d’Ivoire, further confirming Tchaga North as a high-grade drill target.
- Brookside Energy Ltd (ASX:BRK, OTC:RDFEF) has provided an update on operations from the multi-well Flames-Maroons Development Plan (FMDP) and has commenced drilling at the Fleury Well.
- Predictive Discovery Ltd (ASX:ASX:PDI, OTC:PDIYF) reported further near-resource drilling results from the 5.38-million-ounce Bankan Gold Project in Guinea, confirming previous positive results.