Investing.com - Despite the positive trajectory of the US markets, Australian shares opened in a quiet fashion, ticking up 0.1% at Tuesday's open. Market watchers eagerly await the Reserve Bank's interest rate decision slated for 2.30 pm, followed by Governor Michele Bullock's press conference an hour later. No alterations in the interest rates are expected.
US markets closed on a high note, with Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) climbing over 6% and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) surging more than 4%. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) also saw a near 1% rise.
In the spotlight today, KMD Brands Ltd (ASX:KMD) is set to release its results. Furthermore, shares of Auckland International Airport Ltd (ASX:AIA), Credit Corp Group Ltd (ASX:CCP), and Seek Ltd (ASX:SEK) are all expected to trade ex-dividend on Tuesday.
Key Market Takeaways:
- ASX futures slightly up, a gain of 3 points or 0.04% to 7687 as of 7am AEDT
- AUD sees a minor dip of 0.03%, standing at 65.58 US cents
- Bitcoin falls 2% to $US67,116 as of 7.14am AEDT
- Wall Street at 4pm: Dow gains 0.2%, S&P up by 0.6%, Nasdaq increases by 0.8%
- Performance in New York: BHP (ASX:BHP) rises by 0.4%, Rio increases by 0.1%, Atlassian up by 1.3%
- Major tech stocks: Tesla soars by 6.3%, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) marginally up by 0.2%, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) gains 0.6%, Nvidia rises by 0.7%
- Alphabet jumps by 4.4%, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) slightly up by 0.03%, Meta advances by 2.7%
- Volatility Index (VIX) down by 0.5%, Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) up by 1%, 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) dips by 0.3%
- Spot gold increases by 0.2% to $US2159.46/oz as of 1.36pm in New York
- Brent crude surges by 1.7% to $US86.76 a barrel
- Iron ore rises by 4.1% to $US104.00 a tonne
- 10-year bond yield: US at 4.33%, Australia at 4.11%, Germany at 2.46
Driving the markets is the news of Tesla's decision to raise the prices of its Model Y electric vehicles in several European countries and the US, as reported by Reuters. Effective from March 22, Model Y prices will increase by approximately €2000 in certain European countries. In the US, a $US1000 price hike for all Model Y cars will take effect from April 1.
Alphabet shares also soared following Bloomberg's report that Apple is in discussions to incorporate Google's Gemini to power iPhone AI features. The NYSE Fang + Index rose 1.7% during the session.
On the downside, Super Micro Computer shares fell by 6.4%. Despite a week-long slump of 11%, the stock still maintains an overall rise of more than 25% over the past month.
Today's agenda:
Local: RBA policy statement at 2.30pm
Expectations of an early rate relief from the US Federal Reserve were dashed by recent US data, pushing back hopes of a mid-year move from the Reserve Bank to the year-end.
Overseas data: Japan's January final industrial production; Eurozone's March ZEW expectations at 9pm; US February housing starts and building permits at 11.30pm
Central bank expectations:
Both the RBA and the Bank of Japan will hold policy meetings on Tuesday, while the Federal Reserve commences a two-day meeting on Wednesday AEDT. The RBA is predicted to maintain steady rates. Governor Michele Bullock will hold a press conference at 3.30pm