Investing.com - Australian shares lifted 0.3% on Thursday, mirroring the gains on Wall Street where tech giants, notably Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), continue their upward trajectory. The S&P 500 is once again within striking distance of its record high.
Nvidia's impressive performance comes on the heels of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) reported revenue for December, which surpassed expectations. As we start the new year, Nvidia has already seen a rise of over 10% and is now closing in on Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s market capitalization.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is at the center of attention as it is poised to announce the approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Market participants eagerly await the decision, which could potentially shape the future of cryptocurrency investments.
Next in line is the release of the US consumer price data for December, expected to be announced at 12.30 am on Friday AEDT.
Locally, Coles Group Ltd (ASX:COL), one of Australia's leading supermarket chains, announced a substantial price cut on several products by more than 20%. However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese believes that supermarkets are yet to pass on the benefits of dropping wholesale prices to consumers.
Insurance companies are also under the scanner as the prices they charge soared by a staggering 16.3% year-on-year to November, marking the highest increase amongst all consumer spending categories.
Mining companies may experience a shaky start with iron ore prices dropping 4% in Singapore, reversing its recent surge. No industry-specific or China-related news appears to be driving this downturn.
ASX 200 Futures are up by 13 points or 0.2% to 7458 around 8am AEDT. The Australian dollar has seen a 0.2% increase, standing at 67.00 US cents. However, Bitcoin experienced a 1.2% drop to $US45,681 as of 8.33am AEDT.
Wall Street had a positive day with Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all closing higher. Tech giants like Atlassian, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Meta, and Nvidia saw gains, while mining companies BHP (ASX:BHP) and Rio experienced losses.
Among commodities, {{Brent crude}} oil fell 1%, gold eased 0.4% and iron ore shed 4%.
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The markets in New York opened relatively flat but gained momentum in the afternoon, with the impending Bitcoin ETF decision and the latest US inflation data being the focal points.
There is a degree of caution as major US banks prepare to start the fourth-quarter earnings season on Friday.
Japan's Nikkei, which had its best year in a decade in 2023, rose 2% on Wednesday, breaking the 34,000 mark for the first time since 1990.
Among today's data, trade balance data for November will be released at 11.30 am. Overseas, data on NZ building permits for November will be out at 8.45 am, followed by US December CPI data at 12.30 am on Friday.